Latest news with #Boeing787-8Dreamliner
Hindustan Times
5 hours ago
- Health
- Hindustan Times
112 Air India pilots took sick leave 4 days after Ahmedabad crash
At least 112 Air India pilots reported sick four days after the airline's Ahmedabad-Gatwick flight crashed 33 seconds after taking off, killing all but one of the 242 people on board and another 19 people on the ground, the government told Parliament on Thursday. A firefighter stands next to the crashed Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, in Ahmedabad, India, June 13, 2025.(Reuters) On average, Air India — which has an estimated 1,700 pilots — sees close to 50 of them report in sick on a daily basis, a person aware of the matter said, asking not to be named. The government said the airline reported a 'minor increase' in sick leaves after the June 12 crash. 'Air India reported a minor increase in sick leaves reported by pilots across all fleets in the aftermath of the AI-171 accident. On 16.06.202, a total of 112 pilots reported sick, comprising 51 commanders (P1) and 61 first officers (P2),' said minister of state for civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol in a written reply. Also Read | Completed fuel switch inspections, no issues found: Air India He was responding to BJP MP Jai Prakash,whether it is a fact that in the aftermath of the Air India-171 crash, Air India has been experiencing mass sick reporting by its flight crew members; whether the Government has taken remedial measures such as holding post-trauma mental health workshops to mitigate their stress. The airline official cited above added that there had been an increase in pilots reporting they were unwell the day after the incident. 'The spike was very minor in the beginning and it peaked on June 16,' this person added. 'DGCA has already issued a medical circular regarding mental health of flight crews and air traffic controllers (ATCOs) on 22 Feb 2023, which lays down guidelines for operators (scheduled and non-scheduled) and DGCA-empanelled medical examiners,' Mohol said. Also Read | Minor increase in sick leaves by Air India pilots after Ahmedabad crash: Centre He added that the guidelines include 'quick and effective methods to assess mental health that can easily be performed by the DGCA-empanelled medical examiners during the Class 1/2/3 medical examination.' The government has also introduced a standalone, customised training capsule for flight crew and ATCOs to help manage the adverse effects of mental health conditions, it stated, the written reply added. Also Read | AAIB ropes in veteran pilot Captain RS Sandhu in Air India crash probe 'Additionally, on mental health monitoring, the organisations (scheduled and non-scheduled operators, FTOs and AAI (Airports Authority of India) were also advised to have a Peer Support Programme (PSP) in place for their employees. The organisations are required to enable, facilitate and ensure access to this proactive and non-punitive programme that will assist and support flight crew/ATCOs in recognising, coping with and overcoming any problem,' the minister said.
Express Tribune
a day ago
- General
- Express Tribune
Families received wrong remains of Air India crash victims
Wreckage of the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane sits on the open ground, outside Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, where it took off and crashed nearby shortly afterwards, in Ahmedabad, India July 12, 2025. Photo: Reuters/ File Relatives of a British victim killed in last month's Air India crash received a casket that contained mixed remains, a lawyer representing several families and UK media said Wednesday. The family of a separate victim received the remains of another person, according to James Healy-Pratt, who is representing 20 British families who lost loved ones in the disaster. A total of 241 people on board the London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner died when the plane crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad in western India on June 12. Some 169 Indian passengers and 52 British nationals were killed, making it one of the deadliest plane crashes in terms of the number of British fatalities. Several people on the ground also died while only one passenger, British citizen Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, survived the crash. Healy-Pratt told the Press Association news agency that the return of victims' remains had been marred by serious errors, which had been identified following a probe by a British coroner. "In the first two caskets that were repatriated, in one of the caskets, there was co-mingling of DNA which did not relate to the deceased in that casket or the casket that accompanied it," he said.
Express Tribune
a day ago
- General
- Express Tribune
Families received wrong remains of Air India crash victims: lawyer
Wreckage of the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane sits on the open ground, outside Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, where it took off and crashed nearby shortly afterwards, in Ahmedabad, India July 12, 2025. Photo: Reuters/ File Listen to article Relatives of a British victim killed in last month's Air India crash received a casket that contained mixed remains, a lawyer representing several families and UK media said Wednesday. The family of a separate victim received the remains of another person, according to James Healy-Pratt, who is representing 20 British families who lost loved ones in the disaster. A total of 241 people on board the London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner died when the plane crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad in western India on June 12. Some 169 Indian passengers and 52 British nationals were killed, making it one of the deadliest plane crashes in terms of the number of British fatalities. Also Read: PTI slams May 9 ruling as bid to disrupt August 5 rally Several people on the ground also died while only one passenger, British citizen Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, survived the crash. Healy-Pratt told the Press Association news agency that the return of victims' remains had been marred by serious errors, which had been identified following a probe by a British coroner. "In the first two caskets that were repatriated, in one of the caskets, there was co-mingling of DNA which did not relate to the deceased in that casket or the casket that accompanied it," he said. The lawyer added the coroner was then "able to determine that one particular loved one was not at all who the family thought they were". Miten Patel, whose mother Shobhana Patel died along with her husband in the disaster, told the BBC that "other remains" were found in her casket after her body was returned to Britain. Read: PM calls for 'meaningful dialogue' with India to ease tensions in talks with British envoy "People were tired and there was a lot of pressure. But there has to be a level of responsibility that you're sending the right bodies to the UK," he told the broadcaster. The Daily Mail newspaper first reported two cases in which the wrong remains were apparently returned to families in Britain. India's foreign ministry said all remains "were handled with utmost professionalism and with due regard for the dignity of the deceased". "We are continuing to work with the UK authorities on addressing any concerns related to this issue," the statement added.
Scroll.in
2 days ago
- Scroll.in
Air India crash: Protocols followed, says MEA after report claims British victims' remains bungled
A day after a report in the British tabloid Daily Mail alleged that two families in the United Kingdom received wrongly identified mortal remains of the victims of the June 12 Air India crash, India's Ministry of External Affairs said that all established protocols were followed. The Daily Mail reported on Tuesday that the relatives of one victim had to abandon plans for a funeral after being told that their coffin contained the body of an unknown passenger. In another case, a family claimed to have received a casket with the 'commingled' remains of multiple persons. The mix-up came to light when a coroner sought to verify the identities of the victims by matching their DNA samples with those provided by their families. 'Some have got the wrong remains and they are clearly distraught over this,' the Daily Mail quoted James Healy-Pratt, an aviation lawyer representing some of the relatives of those who died, as saying. 'It has been going on for a couple of weeks [and] I think these families deserve an explanation.' In response to the report, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the government has been working with authorities in the United Kingdom 'from the moment these concerns and issues were brought to our attention'. The spokesperson added: 'All mortal remains were handled with utmost professionalism and with due regard for the dignity of the deceased.' The foreign ministry said that identification of victims was carried out 'as per established protocols and technical requirements'. Our response to media queries regarding a report in the Daily Mail on the Air India crash⬇️ 🔗 — Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) July 23, 2025 Two hundred and forty-two persons were aboard the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft – enroute to London's Gatwick airport from Ahmedabad – that crashed just 33 seconds after taking off on June 12. Only one passenger survived with ' impact injuries '. The aircraft's crash into the hostel building of the BJ Medical College also killed at least 34 persons on the ground. This is being viewed as the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- General
- Hindustan Times
Family of British victim in Air India plane crash given ‘wrong body': Report
The family of a British national, who died in the London-bound Air India plane crash, has allegedly been sent the wrong body, according to a report by DailyMail. In this case, a funeral had to be abandoned after it was discovered that the coffin contained the remains of someone else. Wreckage of the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane sits on the open ground, outside Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, where it took off and crashed nearby shortly afterwards, in Ahmedabad.(Reuters) In another instance, the bodies of two victims were reportedly 'commingled' in the same coffin and had to be separated before burial, the report said. James Healy-Pratt, a lawyer representing several bereaved British families, said the mishandling of remains had left relatives 'distraught'. Also Read | Air India completes check of all Boeing planes, says no issues found 'I have been sitting down in the homes of these lovely British families over the last month, and the first thing they want is their loved ones back,' DailyMail quoted Healy-Pratt as saying. 'But some of them have got the wrong remains, and they are clearly distraught over this. It has been going on for a couple of weeks, and I think these families deserve an explanation.' Healy-Pratt said the family who received the wrong body had been left 'in limbo'. Also Read | Air India plane's tail catches fire after landing at Delhi airport; passengers safe He added that they were awaiting formal responses from Air India and its emergency response contractor, Kenyons International Emergency Services. 'The families are also directly in contact with their MPs, the FCDO, and the offices of the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary — ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to London,' the report stated. Responding to queries about the 'commingled' bodies, India's external affairs ministry said that all the established protocols were followed in identification of victims, but they would work with UK authorities to resolve any issues. "We have seen the report and have been working closely with the UK side from the moment these concerns and issues were brought to our attention. In the wake of the tragic crash, the concerned authorities had carried out identification of victims as per established protocols and technical requirements. All mortal remains were handled with utmost professionalism and with due regard for the dignity of the deceased. We are continuing to work with the UK authorities on addressing any concerns related to this issue," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. Air India flight AI 171, operated by a Boeing 787-8, crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad en route to London Gatwick on June 12, killing 241 of the 242 passengers onboard, along with 19 people on the ground. Among the dead were 52 British citizens. Also Read | 'Assigning blame before...': Indian pilots body dissatisfied with Air India crash report The errors were reportedly identified by Dr Fiona Wilcox, the Inner West London coroner. 'If [it] isn't their relative, the question is, who is it in that coffin? Presumably it's another passenger and their relatives have been given the wrong remains. The coroner also has a problem because she has an unidentified person in her jurisdiction,' Healy-Pratt said. The report added that the remains recovered from the crash site were severely burnt, mutilated, or fragmented. Some were identified through DNA testing, while others were matched using dental records. What NFSU in Gujarat said on DNA matching The National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) in Gujarat had a difficult task of performing DNA segregation and matches for bodies of the deceased and their family members. Officials privy to the matter had earlier said the extraction process would be challenging as some bodies were completely charred and extracting bone samples would take time. 'Under usual circumstances, the extraction process and profiling take barely 30-40 minutes. However, here the extraction will take time, as there will hardly be any bone left on some of the charred bodies. It is challenging to find bone samples from the ashes. In some cases, nearly two-thirds of the body is burnt. Thus, the process has to be repeated three-four times,' ThePrint quoted Dr SO Junare, NFSU Gandhinagar campus director, as saying.
