4 days ago
How Air India flight 171 crash unfolded on ground
Buildings impacted
A satellite image shows the location of the site where Air India flight 171 crashed near Ahmedabad airport in western India on June 12
A visual journey through the crash site of Air India flight 171
By , Arathy J Aluckal, Han Huang, Adolfo Arranz and Sudev Kiyada
Published
The preliminary report into the June 12 Air India crash near Ahmedabad, released a month later, not only detailed some of the flight's final moments but also mapped how the wreckage spread across 37,000 square meters and where key parts of the aircraft were found.
The report said the aircraft began losing altitude even before it cleared the airport boundary, after its fuel control switches shifted from 'run' to 'cutoff' mode, almost instantly cutting off fuel to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner carrying 242 people.
For the next 29 seconds, the aircraft continued to descend, gliding over densely populated neighborhoods on the outskirts of the airport.
Just 32 seconds after take-off, and only 1.6 kilometres from the end of the runway, the Air India flight crashed into hospital buildings.
Chimney
As the aircraft lost altitude, it first struck several trees and an incineration chimney, according to the investigation report.
Just 89 metres after first hitting the trees, the aircraft struck the northwest wall of this building.
The aircraft was level, with its nose likely pitched upward, when it struck the building, the probe report said.
The first building the aircraft struck was severely damaged.
The tail section of the aircraft was found embedded in the building's northeast wall and was later moved to the ground.
The right-hand main landing gear was found embedded near the tail section.
The aircraft's right engine was found resting beneath a concrete water tank on the building's rooftop.
One of the two flight data recorders, located in the rear section of the aircraft, was recovered here a day after the crash.
The inboard section of the right wing was recovered near this area.
The vertical stabilizer and rudder separated from the fuselage and came to rest approximately 61 metres south of the initial point of contact with the first building.
Parts of the aircraft were found much beyond the first building it struck, having impacted four additional buildings within the compound.
These buildings sustained significant structural and fire damage.
The nose landing gear was located on the ground at this spot.
The left main landing gear and the outboard section of the left wing struck this building.
The left engine separated from the aircraft and struck the north corner of this building at ground level.
The aircraft's center fuel tank was found at this location.
The outer section of the right wing was found on the road, outside the building compound.
The inboard section of the left wing was found here.
The second flight data recorder, located in the forward section of the aircraft, was recovered here four days after the crash.
The cockpit of the aircraft was found at this location.
The sole survivor of the crash, 41-year-old Viswashkumar Ramesh, was seen in a widely circulated video walking out of the compound through this gate — approximately 230 metres from the aircraft's initial point of impact with the first building.
The probe report said the fuselage of the aircraft fragmented and sustained thermal damage as it traveled along the five buildings. The furthest debris was found about 300 metres away from the trees the aircraft first collided with.
Site where the Air India flight 171 crashed. Pictures by: Amit Dave and Adnan Abidi (Reuters)
India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is leading the investigation into the crash. A final report is expected within a year.
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Pictures by
Amit Dave and Adnan Abidi (Reuters); India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau
Satellite image by
Planet Labs
Edited by
Vijdan Mohammad Kawoosa and Kim Coghill
