Latest news with #G.S.Malik
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Over 200 Killed as Boeing 787 Dreamliner Crashes on Takeoff
More than 200 people have died after a Boeing airplane crashed shortly after takeoff outside the Indian city of Ahmedabad on Thursday, authorities said. The Air India plane, Flight AL171, which was carrying 242 passengers and crew members, was travelling towards London's Gatwick Airport when it crashed soon after it departed from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. G.S. Malik, the city police commissioner, said 204 bodies have been recovered from the crash site, according to the New York Times. He added that 41 people were injured. Air India's chairman, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, said with 'profound sorrow' that the Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft was involved in a 'tragic accident.' 'Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event,' Chandrasekaran said. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the tragedy has 'stunned and saddened us' and is 'heartbreaking beyond words.' 'In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it,' Modi said. The plane had made a mayday call to air traffic control before it crashed, India's aviation regulator, DGCA, said, according to the BBC. The aircraft did not respond after declaring the emergency. The regulator added that the 242 people on board included two pilots and 10 cabin crew. Air India stated that the passengers include 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, one Canadian, and seven Portuguese. The airline added that the injured are being taken to nearby hospitals. Videos posted on social media show plumes of black smoke billowing from the crash site. The plane hit a dining area at B.J. Medical College when 60 to 80 students were inside, according to the Times. At least five students were killed, according to Minakshi Parikh, the dean of the college. 'Most of the students escaped, but 10 or 12 were trapped in the fire,' she said. 'The smoke was very thick.' India's Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said he was 'shocked and devastated' to hear about the flight crash in Ahmedabad. 'We are on highest alert. I am personally monitoring the situation and have directed all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action. Rescue teams have been mobilised, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support are being rushed to the site,' Kinjarapu posted on X. 'My thoughts and prayers are with all those on board and their families.' Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer paid tribute to all those aboard the flight heading for Gatwick Airport. 'The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating,' Starmer said. 'I am being kept updated as the situation develops, and my thoughts are with the passengers and their families at this deeply distressing time.' Data from FlightRadar24 shows the flight reached an altitude of around 625 feet before it crashed. This is the first time that a Boeing 787 aircraft has crashed, the Associated Press reported, citing the Aviation Safety Network database. All flights to and from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad have been temporarily suspended. Gatwick Airport said Flight AL171 was due to land in London at 6:25 p.m. local time on Thursday. A 2020 study from MIT found that air travel is much safer now than it was in previous decades. The current rate is now one death per 7.9 million passenger boardings, compared to one death per 2.7 million between 1998-2007, and one death per 1.3 million boardings during 1988-1997. Between 1968 and 1977, the chances of dying in a plane crash were around one in 350,000.
USA Today
11 hours ago
- General
- USA Today
The 'safest seat' on a plane doesn't really exist. Here's why.
The 'safest seat' on a plane doesn't really exist. Here's why. Show Caption Hide Caption Air India plane crash video: Boeing 787-8 crashes in residential area An Air India plane crashed with more than 240 passengers on board. Over 200 bodies have been recovered, according to city police chief G.S. Malik. When plane crashes happen, like the tragic event in India on Thursday, people often wonder if there's a safest seat onboard. On Air India flight 171, the safest seat appeared to be 11A, because its occupant, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, was the sole known survivor of the crash. But that doesn't mean 11A is the magic number on every flight. While there is no 'safest seat,' there is 'less chance of compression of the fuselage which means more survivable space as far as damage is concerned' by the plane's rear, according to Keith Cianfrani, an aviation safety consultant told USA TODAY. However, airplane crashes are dynamic events, and surviving one depends on a combination of luck, external factors and the airplane's engineering. Miracle in seat 11A: Sole apparent survivor of Air India crash walks away from wreckage If a plane's tail section sheers off, a seat closer to the front will typically be safer. In a head-on collision, a seat closer to the rear may offer passengers the best chance for survival. During a collision involving multiple aircraft on the ground or in the air, the best bet is to sit far away from the point of impact. In an unpredictable, explosive decompression, when an airplane could lose a section of the fuselage, passengers farthest away from the failure point are the most likely to survive. During uncontrolled descent into terrain or water, seats farther away from the impact point are usually the safest, but it depends on the specific crash dynamics. In a fire incident, seats closest to the emergency exits may be best because they provide the fastest escape route, but it also depends on the exact location of the fire's ignition onboard. That is to say, travelers can't plan for a "safe seat" without knowing how the plane will crash.
The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- General
- The Herald Scotland
Is flying safe? What travelers need to know after the Air India crash
What happened to the Air India flight? It's too soon to know what caused the crash. Investigations into major aviation incidents often take weeks or months to release initial findings, and a final analysis can take a year or more. Because the incident happened on Indian soil and involved an Indian airline, local authorities in India will lead the investigation. However, representatives from Boeing and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board will likely be party to the inquiry because the Boeing aircraft involved was manufactured in the U.S. Still, all official updates as the investigation unfolds will likely come from Indian authorities. Were there survivors in the Air India crash? Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British national, appears to be the sole survivor. G.S. Malik, Ahmedabad's police chief, told Indian news media that Ramesh may have survived what no one else did. However, local officials have not yet definitively concluded that everyone aboard the jet was killed. Malik told Reuters that 204 bodies had been recovered from the crash site. He said the bodies recovered could include both passengers and people killed on the ground. Relatives had been asked to give DNA samples to identify the dead, state health secretary Dhananjay Dwivedi said. A source told Reuters that the passengers included 217 adults, 11 children, and two infants. Of them, 169 were Indian nationals, 53 were Britons, seven were Portuguese, and one was Canadian, Air India said. Is flying safe? Yes. Flying remains the safest way to travel. Thursday's incident is the first ever hull loss of a Boeing 787 since the plane type entered service in 2011. While images of aviation disasters are harrowing, statistically speaking, major fatal airline accidents are extremely rare and the industry prioritizes learning from each one to make flying ever safer. Nervous flyers can book a call with Dial A Pilot to "partner with a real airline pilot to learn the truth behind how safe aviation really is." Cruising Altitude: Investigations don't undo air crashes but they prevent tragic repeats Are pilot standards different abroad than those in the US? Yes. Countries have some leeway to set their own pilot training standards, and the U.S. has the highest threshold for minimum flight hours in the world. That said, India is a huge market for aviation and is generally regarded as a safe country for flying. The flight was helmed by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who reportedly had over 8,000 hours of flying experience. The co-pilot had over 1,100 hours logged flying time, according to CNN. What type of plane crashed in India? It was a Boeing 787-8 widebody aircraft. Is it another Boeing crash? While a Boeing aircraft was involved in the Air India crash on Thursday, it's not clear what role, if any, the plane type played in the incident. Aviation disasters almost always have multiple causes, but the provenance of an aircraft is not always a factor. Recent major aviation disasters ? 2025 - U.S. More than 60 people were killed when an American Airlines regional jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided on January 29 and crashed into the frigid Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. ? 2024 - South Korea Jeju Air international flight 7C2216 crashed at Muan International Airport on Dec. 29, 2024, killing all 175 passengers and four of the six crew in the deadliest air disaster on South Korean soil. ? Kazakhstan Azerbaijan Airlines international flight J2-8243, an Embraer E190, crashed on December 25 after being diverted from Russia to Kazakhstan, killing 38 people. Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said in December the plane had been damaged by accidental shooting from the ground in Russia. Moscow has not confirmed this. ? Japan A Japan Airlines plane collided with a smaller Coast Guard aircraft on the runway of Tokyo's Haneda airport on January 2. All 379 people aboard the JAL plane, an Airbus A350-900 flight, escaped the burning airliner. Five of six crew on the smaller aircraft were killed. ? 2022 - China A China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 crashed into a mountainous region in the southwestern Guangxi region on March 21, 2022, killing all 132 people on board, in China's deadliest aviation disaster in 28 years. ? 2020 - Iran Iran's Revolutionary Guards shot down a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 on Jan. 8, 2020, shortly after it took off from Tehran Airport, killing all 176 people on board. Iran's civil aviation body blamed a misaligned radar and an error by an air defense operator. ? 2019 - Ethiopia ? A Boeing 737-MAX 8 Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed on March 19, 2019, minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa for Nairobi, killing all 157 people on board. Soon after, the Boeing 737 MAX global fleet was grounded over safety concerns. ? 2018 - Indonesia A Boeing 737 MAX Lion Air plane crashed into the Java Sea soon after taking off from Jakarta on October 29, 2018, killing all 189 people on board. ? 2014 - Malaysia Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 departed from Amsterdam for Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014, and was shot down over eastern Ukraine as fighting raged between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces. All 298 passengers on board were killed. Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 went missing on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014. The remains of the Boeing 777 and the 239 people have not been found. (This story was updated to add new information.) Contributing: Reuters Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York and you can reach him at zwichter@
The Star
a day ago
- General
- The Star
Over 200 killed in Air India crash
More than 200 people were killed when an Air India plane bound for London with 242 people on board crashed minutes after taking off from the western city of Ahmedabad, authorities said, in the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade. At least one person is known to have survived, police said, and the man told Indian media how he had heard a loud noise shortly after take-off. The plane came down in a residential area yesterday, crashing onto a medical college hostel outside the airport during lunch hour. It was headed for Gatwick Airport, south of the British capital. City police chief G.S. Malik said that 204 bodies had been recovered from the crash site. Tragic accident: People gathering near the site where an Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad as firefighters (right) get to work. — Reuters/AFP Vidhi Chaudhary, another senior police officer, said police found one survivor who was in seat 11A, adding that there could be more survivors in hospital. 'Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed,' 40-year-old Ramesh Viswashkumar told the Hindustan Times, which showed a boarding pass for seat 11A in that name online. 'It all happened so quickly,' he told the paper from his hospital bed. 'When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me,' he said. He said that his brother Ajay was seated in a different row on the plane. 'He was travelling with me and I can't find him anymore. Please help me find him,' he said. Police chief Malik said the bodies recovered could include both passengers and people killed on the ground. Federal minister C.R. Patil said the dead included Vijay Rupani, the former chief minister of Gujarat state. 'Chances are there could be some more survivors among those who are in hospital,' police officer Chaudhary said. 'There are also chances that the death toll will go up. More than 50 injured are in hospitals at present.' Relatives had been asked to give DNA samples to identify the dead, state health secretary Dhananjay Dwivedi told reporters. 'Ahmedabad Civil Hospital students' hostel, staff quarters and other residential areas are located in the area where the plane crashed,' Dwivedi said. 'The residents of that area were also injured.' India's CNN News-18 TV channels said the plane crashed on top of the dining area of state-run B.J. Medical College hostel, killing many medical students as well. The passengers included 217 adults, 11 children and two infants, a source said. Of them, 169 were Indian nationals, 53 were Britons, seven Portuguese and one Canadian, Air India said. Aviation tracking site Flightradar24 said the plane was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, one of the most modern passenger aircraft in service. It was the first crash for the Dreamliner, which began flying commercially in 2011, according to the Aviation Safety Network database. The plane that crashed yesterday flew for the first time in 2013 and was delivered to Air India in January 2014, Flightradar24 said. The crash occurred just after the plane took off, television channels reported. One channel showed the plane taking off over a residential area and then disappearing from the screen before a huge jet of fire can be seen rising into the sky from beyond the houses. 'My sister-in-law was going to London. Within an hour, I got news that the plane had crashed,' Poonam Patel, a relative of one of the passengers, told news agency ANI at the government hospital in Ahmedabad. Ramila, the mother of a student at the medical college, told ANI her son had gone to the hostel for his lunch break when the plane crashed. 'My son is safe, and I have spoken to him. He jumped from the second floor, so he suffered some injuries,' she said. According to air traffic control at Ahmedabad Airport, the aircraft departed at 1.39pm local time from runway 23. It gave a Mayday call, signalling an emergency, but thereafter there was no response from the aircraft. Boeing said it was aware of initial reports and was working to gather more information. Boeing shares fell 5% as the crash posed a major setback for the planemaker as its new CEO looks to rebuild trust following a series of safety and production challenges. Aircraft engine-maker GE Aerospace said that it would put a team together to go to India and analyse cockpit data, India's CNBC TV18 reported. The US National Transportation Safety Board said it would lead a team of US investigators travelling to India to help in the investigation. 'The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us,' Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X. 'It is heartbreaking beyond words.' — Reuters
Wales Online
a day ago
- General
- Wales Online
Air India confirm 241 killed and one British survivor in plane crash
Only one person has survived the Air India plane crash that was carrying 242 people to the UK, it has been confirmed. Air India has stated that 241 people lost their lives in the disaster. The Air India flight heading to Gatwick Airport reportedly crashed into a doctors' hostel in Ahmedabad, India in devastating scenes. Fire engines rushed to the scene as 242 people were believed to be inside including 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, one Canadian national and seven Portuguese nationals. Flight tracking service Flightradar24 reported that the plane lost the signal from the aircraft just seconds after it became airborne. "The signal from the aircraft was lost at 10.08 local time at 625 feet, less than a minute after take off," it wrote on X. Videos being widely shared show a huge plume of black smoke rising from the site of the crash in the Meghani area of the city, where the Times of India reports the plane crashed into a doctor's hostel. Emergency crews remain at the scene picking through the debris amid the charred scene of the tragedy. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner jet had just taken off from Sardar Vallabhai Patel International Airport before the crash. It was due to land in Gatwick around 6pm. Services at the Indian airport have started to resume but a further Air India flight to Gatwick has been cancelled today, while staff in the London airport have been on hand to offer support to concerned passengers. On Wednesday afternoon Ahmedabad's city police commissioner said there don't appear to have been any survivors from crash. It was also reported that around 200 bodies had been recovered, including those of passengers and people in the area where the plane came down. "It appears there are no survivors in the plane crash," Commissioner G.S. Malik told The Associated Press, adding 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 airport, often called Ahemdabad airport, and officially known as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, is based in the Indian state of Gujarat, where the country's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi hails from. The airport is said to be the busiest and the largest airport in the state. It is named after the country's first Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Follow live updates on this incident below:
