The Latest: A single passenger survived Air India crash that killed 240 people, officials say

Toronto Star

a day ago

A single passenger survived the fiery crash of an Air India passenger plane in the northwestern city of Ahmedabad, killing more than 240 people bound for London and others on the ground, officials said.
It was not immediately clear what caused one of India's worst airline disasters in decades. A video of the crash shows the plane with with its nose pointed upward, sinking toward the ground before slamming into a medical college.
The aircraft was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, a widebody, twin-engine plane. This is the first Dreamliner crash since it went into service in 2009, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
Indian conglomerate Tata Sons took over Air India in 2022, returning the debt-saddled carrier to private ownership after decades of government control.
Here's the latest:
___
A lone survivor from the Air India crash is being treated at a hospital, a doctor says
The single passenger escaped the fiery crash of an Air India passenger plane, according to a doctor at a hospital in Ahmedabad, shortly after it took off for London with more than 240 people on board. The airline has said there were no other survivors
At least one person survived the crash, news agency Press Trust of India reports
The news agency quoted Dr. Shriq M., who works in the trauma ward of the Ahmedabad civil hospital.
The AP could not independently verify the report.
Expert is puzzled why the plane continued to sink before the crash
Former FAA and NTSB crash investigator Jeff Guzzetti said it's a mystery why the airplane was having difficulty climbing in the final moments of the flight.
Video of the plane from right before the crash does not show any smoke or fire, so he said it does not appear that a bird strike was an issue. And even if the plane lost one engine, the second engine should be able to carry it aloft, he added.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
Guzzetti said it's possible that both engines started to 'roll back' and lose power at the same time.
'This happened on a (Boeing) 777 crash coming into Heathrow about 15 years ago. It was a dual engine roll back due to icing in the fuel. So there could be a fuel issue,' he said.
'Usually fuel contamination issues rear their ugly head during takeoff,' he explained.
Video shows Air India plane's final moments before crashing in a huge fireball
The video shows the plane with with its nose pointed upward, sinking toward the ground before crashing and generating a huge fireball.
The Associated Press was able to verify the video on social media by matching up the flight path of the plane from the runway with the crash site and the nearby residential area. The AP has been unable to identify the person who shot the video to get permission to publish it.
A senior ex-official died in the crash, Indian lawmaker says
A former chief minister of the state where the crash took place was aboard the plane and is believed to have died, a lawmaker said.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
Vijay Rupani, who had served as the top elected official in Gujarat state, was among the dead, said Sambit Patra, a lawmaker from India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, on the social media platform X. Rupani was also a member of the BJP.
British air accident investigators are being sent to India
The U.K. Air Accidents Investigation Branch said it was sending a multidisciplinary investigation team to assist their Indian counterparts on the crash of the London-bound flight.
The U.K. is entitled under international rules to send their own investigators because there were a significant number of British casualties. Officials said 53 British citizens were aboard the plane.
The U.S. is also entitled to investigate because the plane's manufacturer, Boeing Co., is based there.
On the ground, at least 5 medical students killed and around 50 injured
Part of the plane fell on top of the dining area of B.J. Medical College, killing at least five medical students and injuring nearly 50.
That's according to Divyansh Singh, vice president of the Federation of All India Medical Association, a national body that represents resident doctors across the country.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
'Some of the injured are critical. We are in close contact with our peers in the hospital who are on a lookout for more people feared buried in the debris,' he said.
Pakistan expresses deep sadness over Air India crash
'Condolences over the loss of precious lives in this tragic incident. Our sympathies are with the families of the victims in this hour of grief,' Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar wrote on X.
Dar's comments follow a breakdown in Pakistan's relations with India after a gun massacre on tourists in April that India blamed on Pakistan.
The two countries came close to the brink of war until intense diplomatic efforts successfully brokered a truce. The ceasefire, on May 11, has largely held but the nuclear armed neighbors remain hostile toward each other.
Former UK leader Rishi Sunak reacts to the crash
Former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he and his wife Askhata Murty said they are 'deeply shocked and distressed' by the news of the crash of the Air India Boeing 787 that was heading from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick.
Sunak, who is of Indian descent, became the U.K.'s first Hindu prime minister in 2022 and remained premier until he lost last year's general election. Murty is Indian.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
'There is a unique bond between our two nations and our thoughts and prayers go out to the British and Indian families who have lost loved ones today,' Sunak said on X.
Expert says plane parts did not seem properly configured
Aviation safety consultant John M. Cox said one of the questions investigators will be asking is whether the Air India plane that crashed Thursday was properly configured for flight.
While he stressed it was too early to make any conclusions, the CEO of Washington DC-based Safety Operating Systems said the grainy images of the flight suggested that one area of inquiry was likely to be whether the slats and flaps were in the correct position as the plane attempted to climb.
'The image shows the airplane with the nose rising and it continuing to sink,'' he said. 'That says that the airplane is not making enough lift.'' The slats and flaps should be positioned so that the wing makes more lift at lower speeds.
'It's hard to tell but from looking at the aircraft from behind … it doesn't look like that the trailing edge flaps are in the position I would have expected them to be,'' he said. 'But I'm very cautious that the image quality is not good enough to make that a conclusion. It's just an area where I know that they're going to look.''
Air India was privatized in 2022
Indian conglomerate Tata Sons took over Air India in 2022, returning the debt-saddled carrier to private ownership after decades of government control.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
The 180 billion rupee (then worth $2.4 billion) deal was part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's effort to sell off loss-making state-run businesses.
It was in some ways a homecoming for Air India, which was launched by the Tata family in 1932.
Since the takeover, Air India has ordered hundreds of new planes, redesigned its branding and livery, and merged it with smaller airlines Tata held stakes in.
King Charles III says he and Queen Camilla are 'desperately shocked'
'Our special prayers and deepest possible sympathy are with the families and friends of all those affected by this appallingly tragic incident across so many nations, as they await news of their loved ones,' the monarch said in a statement.
The king also paid tribute to the heroic efforts of the emergency services and all those providing help and support 'at this most heartbreaking and traumatic time.'
The U.K. and India have particularly close ties and are leading members of the Commonwealth group of nations, which the king is head of.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
An Air India flight from Gatwick to Goa is canceled
The flight, which was due to leave Thursday night from London Gatwick Airport to the Indian state of Goa, has been canceled after the airline's earlier crash in northwestern India.
The flight to Manohar International Airport had been scheduled to depart at 8:30 p.m., about two hours after the flight from Ahmedabad had been due to land at the airport south of London.
Air India did not provide a reason for the cancelation.
US says it is ready to send investigating team if requested
The U.S. government says it is ready to send a team to help investigate the Air India crash if Indian officials request it.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the National Transportation Safety Board would be the U.S. government's primary representative and the FAA provides technical support.
The NTSB routinely helps determine the causes of about 450 international crashes every year.
Indian army deploys personnel to assist civil authorities
The Indian army has deployed 130 personnel including doctors and paramedics to assist civil authorities in Ahmedabad in clearing debris from the Air India plane crash and help treat the injured.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
The city's local military hospital has also been kept on a standby, the army said in a statement.
London Gatwick Airport setting up a reception center for relatives
The airport in south London says it is 'liaising closely with Air India' and that staff is setting up a reception center for relatives of those on board the Air India Boeing 787 flight to provide 'information and support.'
In a statement posted on social media, it said the flight, which had more than 240 passengers and crew aboard, was due to land at the airport at 6:25 p.m. local time.
Gatwick, which is around 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of London, is the U.K.'s second-busiest.
Boeing says it stands ready to support Air India
In an updated statement, Boeing said 'We are in contact with Air India regarding Flight 171 and stand ready to support them.'
'Our thoughts are with the passengers, crew, first responders and all affected,' the company said.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
Air India flight 171, a Boeing 787-8, crashed into a residential area in India's northwestern city of Ahmedabad five minutes after taking off at 1:38 p.m. local time.
Ahmedabad's city police commissioner says there appears to be no survivors
'It appears there are no survivors in the plane crash,' Commissioner G.S. Malik told The Associated Press.
He added that with the plane crashing in a residential area with offices, 'some locals would have also died.'
'Exact figures on casualties are being ascertained,' he said.
The flight crashed midday shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport with more than 240 people on board.
Crash appeared surprising at first glance, safety expert says
John McDermid, a computer scence professor at the University of York with expertise in safety engineering, said that while it was too early to know much about the cause of the crash it appeared to be very surprising at first glance.
While takeoffs and landings are the most dangerous phases of a flight, he noted that the plane had not climbed above 200 meters (650 feet).
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
'Pilots can abort takeoff until quite late,' McDermid said. 'So it seems like the problem occurred very suddenly in the final part of the takeoff roll, or shortly after takeoff, and was sufficiently serious to be unmanageable.'
He also said that jets have many backup systems, such as the ability to climb with only one engine, which also made it an unusual accident.
Putin expresses condolences in official message
In a message to Indian President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his 'deepest condolences' in the aftermath of the Air India crash.
'Please convey my sincere sympathy and support to the families and friends of the victims, as well as my wishes for a speedy recovery to all those injured in this disaster,' he said in a letter published on the Kremlin's website.
Boeing's 787 first entered service in 2009
At the time, it was the world's first airliner made mostly from lightweight composite materials. It was also the first to make extensive use of lithium ion batteries, which are lighter, recharge faster and can hold more energy than other types of batteries.
In 2013 the 787 fleet, which numbered around 50 jets at the time, was temporarily grounded because of overheating of its lithium-ion batteries, which in some cases sparked fires.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
Prime Minister Narendra Modi says crash is 'heartbreaking beyond words'
In a social media post, Modi said the tragedy in Ahmedabad 'has stunned and saddened us.'
'In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it,' he said, adding he has been in touch with ministers and authorities who are working to assist those affected.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer: Crash is 'devastating'
'The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating,' Starmer said in a statement.
Air India said the passengers onboard the Boeing 787-8 included 53 British nationals. Britain has very close ties with India and according to the 2021 U.K. census, there were nearly 1.9 million people in the country of Indian descent.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch echoed the prime minister's message.
'My thoughts are with all those affected — especially the families of those on board, and the emergency teams responding to what appears to be a horrifying tragedy,' Badenoch said on the X social media platform.
Shares of Boeing tumble in pre-market trading
Boeing said in a brief statement: 'We are aware of initial reports and are working to gather more information.'
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
The crash comes days before the opening of the Paris Air Show, a major aviation expo where Boeing and European rival Airbus will showcase their aircraft and battle for jet orders from airline customers.
Boeing has been in recovery mode for more than six years after Lion Air Flight 610, a Boeing 737 Max 8, plunged into the Java Sea off the coast of Indonesia minutes after takeoff from Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board. Five months later, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, a Boeing 737 Max 8, crashed after takeoff from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, killing 157 passengers and crew members.
Shares of Boeing Co. tumbled as much as 9% before trading opened in the U.S.
Last major passenger plane crash in India was in 2020
In August 2020 an Air India Express Boeing-737 skidded off a hilltop runway in southern India, killing 21 people.
The worst air disaster in India was on Nov. 12, 1996, when a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight collided midair with a Kazakhstan Airlines Flight near Charki Dadri in Haryana state, killing all 349 on board the two planes.
India's foreign minister says 'deeply shocked' by the crash
India's foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, said he was 'deeply shocked to learn about the flight crash in Ahmedabad' in a post on X. 'Our prayers are with the passengers and their families,' he said.
Passengers included Indian, British, Portuguese and Canadian nationals
Air India in a statement said there were 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft.
Of these, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 British, one Canadian and seven Portuguese. The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals.