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Sole survivor of Air India crash 'still dreams he is on the plane'

Sole survivor of Air India crash 'still dreams he is on the plane'

Metro5 days ago
The only person to walk away from the deadly Air India flight last month is suffering from nightmares after his ordeal.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, was the lone survivor from the plane, which crashed on June 12 in Ahmedabad, India.
The father-of-one, who had been in window seat 11A, stumbled out of the burning jet moments before it exploded, while all other 241 onboard – including his brother Ajay – were killed.
Family member Krunal Keshave, from Leicester, has now revealed the impact the tragedy has had on him: 'He can't sleep at night. He sleeps but doesn't sleep properly.
'When he sleeps, he dreams he is on the flight. He remembers seeing everyone die in front of his eyes.'
Ramesh had been travelling back to the UK, but has since remained in India with his wife and son, who are supporting him as he tries to live a normal life.
Keshave added: 'He speaks, but he doesn't speak about the crash. He is currently trying to have a normal life, but he is not going out too much.
'He is spending time at home with the family.'
Earlier this month, investigators looking into the Air India crash were trying to unravel a 'mistake' made by the pilots.
Assessments by US officials suggest the crash was not caused by problems with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
The findings suggest that switches controlling fuel flow to the jet's two engines were turned off.
This then led to an apparent loss of thrust shortly after takeoff.
Pilots on aircraft use the switches to start the jet's engines, shut them down, or reset them in certain emergencies.
These switches would normally be on during flight, and it is unclear how or why they were turned off.
The US investigators have said that it is unclear whether the move was accidental or intentional, or whether there was an attempt to turn them back on, according to the Wall Street Journal.
If the switches were off this could explain why the jet's emergency-power generator—known as a ram air turbine, or RAT was activated before the aircraft crashed.
It's also been revealed that the captain of the Air India plane vowed to return home soon to look after his elderly dad.
Just hours before one of India's worst aviation disasters that killed 260 people, the captain, Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, had reportedly told the security guard in his apartment complex to look after his elderly father, who lived with him.
The captain, who had over 15,600 hours of experience in the cockpit, said: 'Please, take care of papa. I will be back soon.'
His colleagues have rallied around him after the preliminary crash report appeared to shift the blame over the crash onto the pilots.
Other Air India pilots have claimed that Sabharwal struggled with mental health issues.
The doomed plane was carrying 169 Indian nationals, 53 British, one Canadian and seven Portuguese people.
MORE: Air India captain's final ask before boarding crash plane
MORE: Pensioner dies after car crashes down embankment onto railway
MORE: Family pays tribute to man, 58, killed in M60 motorbike crash
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Mackerel are definitely in the Forth
Mackerel are definitely in the Forth

Scotsman

time3 hours ago

  • Scotsman

Mackerel are definitely in the Forth

It is just after 8pm on a beautiful night with an almost flat calm sea and light breeze on the River Forth. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Six happy anglers celebrate as we pulled into the dockside. They say goodbye then lifted a crate, yes a crate, laden with mackerel, all taken in a two-hour trip. Two strong guys struggled to carry the container up the jetty and the fish were, they said, destined for a home-built smoker in one of their gardens. They showed us a picture, it was indeed sizeable. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad One, a Romanian, fishing at the stern of the boat, was particularly adept. On four occasions, he hooked into five mackerel at one time on his rig, five silver dressed hooks. Leanne Taylor (right) with another successful angler, Graham Brazenall. Others on the well-appointed and spotlessly clean catamaran, operated by Forth Sea Safaris, were not so lucky, yet they were only a few paces away. Green and pink tinged hooks, some with beads and some without, were attached and they did attract, but not in the volume of our Romanian friend who left the boat with his clothes covered in fish scales. He was knackered with the effort, but smiles better having made the trip. He knew how to plunder the darting and surprisingly strong fish from the depths. No real science to it. Drop feathers overboard, don't cast as that is dangerous - gulls and gannets can attack the hook – and you need a weight strong enough to take the feathers through the water column. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Some fish were tempted on the drop, others near the bottom. Let the weight hit the deck and lift it around two turns on the reel then jig the feathers up and down. We all did it, but the tactic worked better for some than for others. The anglers who hooked into mackerel on board the Forth Sea Safaris boat out of Burntisland take a selfie It does make one jealous, however, when somebody close catches and you don't, but that's the joy, or not, of fishing. However, everybody went home with some and is no surprise the hard-fighting fish are so eagerly sought by local anglers. Locals shouted to us from the harbour wall as we came in asking how we had fared. They were struggling in their quest for the sliver scaled fish which are considered healthy and nutritious. Mackerel are, according to experts, packed with Omega-3 fatty acids, protein, and various vitamins and minerals. Regularly consuming mackerel, loved on the Continent, but once shunned by British shoppers, but not any more, has been linked with numerous health benefits, including improved heart health, brain function and reduced risk of chronic diseases. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad However, you either love mackerel or loathe them. I'm in the loathe camp, I'm afraid, even when converted to mackerel pate, smoked or unsmoked. Grilling or pan frying are popular methods which allegedly highlight the flavour. Our Romanian colleague said: 'My freezer had about 40 last year. This time, I'll keep about 20 and then give to friends and neighbours.' Then he departed. Forth Sea Safaris are based at the East Dock Harbour, only a two minute walk from Burntisland Station and many groups take the train, some from Edinburgh Waverley. The dock is a 20 minute drive from the Forth Road Bridge and parking is at the top of the jetty. The boat, which can be chartered for special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries, and has also been used for ashes scattering and a marriage proposal, is equipped with the latest navigation and safety equipment. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The twin engine craft, with Stuart at the helm, welcomes youngsters aged 15 but they must be looked after by a parent or guardian. Leanne, no mean fisherman herself, is on hand to sort out issues, like tangles which do happen, particularly with inexperienced anglers using several hooks. A maximum of three is recommended. Equipment can be hired and Leanne confirmed: 'This is prime mackerel season and we have availability in the coming weeks, with trips every Friday night and Saturday morning.' Young people, she said, love the experience of landing a fish, particularly their first, and it is rare that anglers don't catch. 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Benjamina Ebuehi's recipe for strawberry and custard doughnuts
Benjamina Ebuehi's recipe for strawberry and custard doughnuts

The Guardian

time6 hours ago

  • The Guardian

Benjamina Ebuehi's recipe for strawberry and custard doughnuts

I don't make doughnuts very often, but few things are better than the first bite of a freshly fried, pillowy-soft one, sugar-coated lips and all. When it comes to fillings, custard just about beats jam for me, but who's to say you can't have both? So, to satisfy everyone, I've filled these doughnuts generously with a thick vanilla custard and a speedy strawberry jam. Prep 15 min Prove 1 hr 45 min+ Cook 1 hr 45 min Makes 9 For the custard 4 egg yolks 50g caster sugar 25g cornflour 400ml milk½ tsp vanilla bean paste 100ml double cream For the strawberry jam250g strawberries, hulled and roughly chopped100g caster sugar 1 tbsp lemon juice For the dough360g bread flour, plus extra for dusting 7g dried instant yeast 55g caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling ½ tsp salt 100ml milk1 large egg 40g unsalted butter, softened1 litre vegetable or sunflower oil Make the custard by beating the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour in a bowl until smooth. Put the milk and vanilla in a small saucepan and heat gently until steaming. Pour a big splash of the hot milk mix on to the eggs, whisk well, then whisk in the remaining milk. Pour back into the saucepan and cook, whisking constantly, over a medium heat, until thick and bubbling. Pour the custard into a clean bowl, cover with clingfilm so it touches the surface, and leave to cool completely before chilling in the fridge. To make the strawberry jam, put the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in a small pan and bring to a boil. Simmer for seven to nine minutes, until softened and jammy, using the back of a spoon to mash any large pieces of fruit. Set aside to cool, then spoon into a piping bag. To make the dough, put the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix to combine. Make a well in the centre, pour in the milk, water, egg and softened butter, and knead on low speed for six to seven minutesrest uncovered in the bowl for five minutes. Knead again for five minutes, until the dough is smooth and supple and isn't sticking to the sides of the bowl, then transfer to a lightly greased bowl, cover and prove in a warm place for one or two hours, until nearly doubled in size. Knock out the air, turn out the dough on to a well-floured surface and roll the dough into a rectangle about 1¼cm thick. (If it keeps springing back, let it rest for a few minutes before rolling again.) Use a round cutter to stamp out nine doughnuts, re-rolling the dough if needed. Put each doughnut on a small square of greaseproof paper, cover with a damp tea towel and prove for 30-40 minutes, or until puffy. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan until it reaches 175C. Fry two or three doughnuts at a time (no need to peel off the greaseproof paper; it will float in the oil so you can pick it out) for a minute and a half to two minutes per side, until deeply golden. Transfer the cooked doughnuts to a plate lined with kitchen paper and repeat with the remaining dough. Once they're cool enough to handle, put some caster sugar on a shallow plate and roll each doughnut around until covered. Remove the custard from the fridge and whisk well to remove any lumps. Lightly whip the double cream to soft peaks, then fold into the custard; transfer to a piping bag. Using a skewer, make a hole in the top of each doughnut and fill with custard and jam. Serve immediately.

Aviation expert questions ‘missing seconds' in Air India disaster report with timestamps that ‘don't match up'
Aviation expert questions ‘missing seconds' in Air India disaster report with timestamps that ‘don't match up'

Daily Mail​

time10 hours ago

  • Daily Mail​

Aviation expert questions ‘missing seconds' in Air India disaster report with timestamps that ‘don't match up'

An aviation expert has demanded answers over the unexplained 10 seconds before the tragic Air India crash that killed 260 people, saying: 'The timestamps just don't match up.' A preliminary report into the tragedy revealed that before the crash, two fuel switches - which are used to start or shut down the engines and are typically left on during flight - were moved from 'Run' to 'Cutoff', depriving the engines of fuel. The report also revealed there had been confusion in the cabin when Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and his co-pilot Clive Kunder, 28, realised the fault, before desperate attempts were made to flick them back. In an inteview with Piers Morgan on his YouTube show Uncensored, Captain Kishore Chinta - a military aviator and former air accident investigator - said that unexplained actions and delays during a 10-second window after takeoff are central to understanding what went wrong with Boeing's 787 Dreamliner. He said: 'The timestamps just don't match up. And if it took one second to put out both the switches quickly, why did it take four seconds to put them back on?' 'Practically, whatever happened, happened in the first 10 seconds from the lift off. The timestamp doesn't match up', Chinta added. The doomed aircraft took off at 8:08:39 seconds in Ahmedebad for its journey to London. About three seconds later, the jet with 242 people on board reached its maximum recorded airspeed. But within the space of just one second, both of the plane's engine fuel switches turned off from its run positions. In addition, the report did not reveal any further conversation between the two pilots during in the moments before the disaster. It would take another 10 seconds before the first fuel switch was moved back to its run position, and another four seconds after that for the second switch to snap back, according to a sequence laid out in the official preliminary report on the fatal crash. Following the preliminary report, questions have been raised over the intentions of the pilot of the Air India plane Captain Sabharwal, with some commentators believing the commercial flight was brought down deliberately. The veteran aviator, who had more than 8,200 hours in the cockpit, is being looked into by investigators over suggestions he turned off the plane's fuel switches, causing it to lose power. But Captain Chinta blasted this theory and said: 'We're doing gross injustice to the pilots who are not there to defend themselves by guestimating and coming up with theories which are mere assumptions.' He added the key to solving the mystery of the doomed flight could lie with the fuel cut off switches and whether they can be turned off in any other way than manually. 'Those fuel switches went to cut off but the report doesn't mention anywhere that those, physically, those switches moved. That is what is the key to the entire theory. So, those switches, moved? We do not know. Yes, those shut off the fuel supply, which caused the engines to lose power? Yes. Why that happened, we do not know right now'. Internet star Captain Steve, joined in on the conversation with Piers Morgan and revealed that he believes one of the pilots was behind the crash. Seconds after taking off on June 12, two fuel switches in the cockpit of Air India Flight 171 were turned off, a preliminary report revealed Hoorifying footage showed the moment the plane crashed, with a massive fireball erupting in the horizon 'The only answer that really fits all of the parameters is that the fuel control switches, as they say in the report, transitioned from run to cut off. 'But that doesn't happen without human intervention, and anybody that operates those switches knows that they are spring-loaded into position. They have a detent to hold them there. They don't vibrate out of position. That's never happened…The only way you can move those switches is to put a hand on them and move them back and then move them back up.' But he has also called for more transparency. 'You know, what would solve all this Piers, would be if the people who wrote this report got in front of a camera and behind a microphone,' he said. Ed Pierson, Executive Director & Foundation for Aviation Safety and former Boeing worker, told Piers Morgan Uncensored that before concluding it was the pilot's fault all the possible system errors should be considered. 'There's a lot of things that need to be examined here, systems wise, before we again jump to the conclusion that this was a pilot making a mistake or even intentionally.' The doomed Air India flight crashed last month and killed 260 people. It had set off for London at 1:38pm and remained airborne for about 30 seconds before losing power and falling to the ground. Upon impact, it was engulfed by a huge fireball, claiming the lives of all but one person on board. Sources close to the investigation believe recordings of the conversation from the Boeing's black box support the view that the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane's engines. Friends and colleagues also reject the idea Sabharwal was responsible, claiming he was a 'gentle soul' and an 'ace pilot' who had never been involved in any major incident prior to the crash. Neil Pais, 61, a former colleague of Sabharwal, told The Telegraph he was 'one of the nicest people you could ever hope to fly with'. 'He had absolutely no airs about himself, so humble, so respectful. Always a smile when he spoke to you,' he added. 'I never once saw him raise his voice or lose his temper. And yet he never compromised on work or safety. If there was an issue, he'd point it out, but always in the nicest possible way.' Another colleague and close friend, Captain Kapil Kohal, said Sabharwal was a 'hero' with a 'gentle soul'. Despite his nickname of 'Sad Sack', given because of his 'melancholic eyes', Sabharwal was 'deeply charismatic and always ready to help,' he added. A family member cries upon hearing the news of her brother who died when the Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane crashed in Ahmedabad, India, June 12, 2025. An Air India spokesperson previously said: 'Air India stands in solidarity with the families and those affected by the AI171 accident' But the sadness noticed by his peers was resultant of a deeper tragedy. Sabharwal had struggled to come to terms with the death of his mother in 2022 and in the wake of her passing had separated from his wife and moved from Delhi to Mumbai, to be closer to his elderly father, Pushkaraj. Investigations into the tragic crash have reportedly begun to analyse Sabharwal's behaviour after 'several' Air India pilots allegedly confirmed he suffered from poor mental health. He is understood to have taken bereavement leave after his mother's death. Although it is believed that he had been 'medically cleared' by Air India prior to the fatal crash. Friends also revealed Sabharwal had considered retiring as a pilot to help care for his 90-year-old father full time.

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