Latest news with #AI171
Time of India
7 minutes ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Mumbai's rail overbridge opens amid claims for political credit
Mumbai: As the BMC opened the Vikhroli rail overbridge (ROB0 —a key east-west connector—at 4pm on Saturday, political sparring broke out, with both the UBT Shiv Sena , the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and the BJP rushing to claim credit for the project. The bridge saw political party flags and banners being displayed on it even before it was opened to motorists. The area is represented by Sena MLA Sunil Raut, who broke a coconut at the site on Saturday, signalling the opening of the bridge. The 615-metre bridge, which links Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg in Vikhroli to the Eastern Express Highway, was on the drawing board for the past 15 years, with the work order being issued in 2018. It was completed seven years later, in 2025. No formal inauguration ceremony was held, with the Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis proposing to open it on Saturday evening. It is a two-way bridge. One of the political banners, put up by MLA Sunil Raut, claimed he was pursuing the project with the BMC and Central Railway since 2010. Another, bearing a photo of deputy CM Eknath Shinde and attributed to local neta Haroon Khan, declared the bridge a victory of his protest. Khan told TOI that in 2010, he and local residents staged a protest that brought train services to a halt. "There were repeated cases of people dying while crossing the tracks. We decided enough was enough and protested on the tracks. It was only after we received an assurance that the bridge would be constructed that we called off the agitation," he said. However, former BJP MP Manoj Kotak said he consistently followed up with the railways and the BMC to push the bridge work forward. "Those claiming credit don't understand the complexities involved. From acquiring land on the eastern side to ensuring minimal disruption to students near the school on the west, we worked persistently with the authorities to bring the project to completion. While COVID caused delays, the work picked up pace again after the pandemic," said Kotak. Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
Time of India
9 minutes ago
- Science
- Time of India
Why wing flaps are crucial to planes and could they be responsible for AI 171 crash
Why wing flaps are crucial to planes and could they be responsible for AI 171 crash New York Times TNN Updated: Jun 14, 2025, 20:48 IST IST The wing flaps of AI 171 have drawn the attention of experts trying to explain how the Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 aircraft crashed in Ahmedabad. Here's the role they play in take-off and landing One of the questions being raised by experts following the deadly crash of Air India flight AI 171 in Ahmedabad is to do with the deployment of the wing flaps.
Daily Record
14 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Air India slammed over 'broken planes'
Indian officials continued with investigations underway to determine exactly what caused the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner to crash as bereaved families wait to collect the bodies of their loved ones from a post-mortem centre. Air India flights were reportedly riddled with issues long before the tragic AI171 disaster last week that saw over 200 dead. The airline used to receive a large amount of bad publicity from a series of incidents giving the airline what an expert has said was an "exceptionally poor" reputation. Hospital officials in Ahmedabad, in Gujarat province, western India, confirmed today that 270 people died in the disaster after the doomed flight hit a medical college hostel on Thursday shortly after takeoff - killing all but one of 241 passengers and dozens of people on the ground. Indian officials continued with investigations underway to determine exactly what caused the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner to crash as bereaved families wait to collect the bodies of their loved ones from a post-mortem centre. The airline has received high praise for its response to the disaster, which comes three years after it was acquired and privatised by Tata steel. But prior to this, Rhys Jones, a luxury travel expert and editor of Head for Points, told The Mirror, Air India's reputation was "extremely poor" despite it being cleared by European and US regulators. Window chaos Back in 2018, chaos erupted during a 30-minute Air India flight from Amritsar to Delhi, when intense turbulence resulted in the inside part of a window panel becoming dislodged. Panic spread across the packed cabin, filled with 240 passengers, while a cabin crew member bravely pushed the panel back in, all while comforting a distressed passenger. Footage of the terrifying incident was shared widely on social media at the time and shows some overhead oxygen masks being deployed. Three people were left requiring hospital treatment, as per The Times of India newspaper. A source told the publication: 'Passengers were naturally terrified.' He continued: 'The turbulence on Flight AI 462 was such that the head of a seated passenger, who possibly did not have his seat belt fastened, hit the overhead cabin because of a bump. "The person suffered injuries. Two more had minor injuries. The inside of a window panel came off. The outside window did not break, and there was no depressurisation.' 'Dirty' conditions After the Tata group took over the airline a year ago, a Dubai-based travel influencer, who vlogs via the YouTube channel Living Jet Setters, reviewed a flight they took aboard a 787-8 Dreamliner, to see if improvements had been made. The vlogger, who travelled in economy class, was impressed by the speedy check-in and the "great service" they received from "extremely friendly and very nice" cabin crew members. They also noticed improvements with the on-flight food, which they described as "tasty" and "delicious", and found their seat and headrest to be comfortable. However, there were a number of areas they found to be "pretty outdated" aboard the aircraft, which had been part of Air India's fleet for 10.4 years by this point. They noted: "Even the magazines aren't very well kept". Expressing displeasure at the "very poor hygiene" standards that quickly became apparent when they took their seat, the travel reviewer showed footage of stains on the torn seat cushions, as well as on the fold-out tray table. He remarked: 'Air India has to improve on this." On top of this, their remote control socket was broken, and their in-flight entertainment screen wasn't working. A glance around the cabin showed he wasn't alone on this front. Unfortunately, there were yet more grim finds awaiting him in the "old and dirty" bathroom, which he claimed had "no amenities" or even tissue paper. The air freshener also didn't seem to be working. Calling upon Air India to update and refurbish their older planes, he asserted: 'It's only been half an hour into the flight, and it's already dirty". Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Broken seats In April of this year, as previously reported by the View From The Wing travel publication, an Air India passenger making the 7,500-mile journey from Chicago to Delhi claims she was told 'there was a technical issue" with her business class seat, which "wouldn't recline". Instead, she says she was offered two economy seats, which she was allegedly pressed to take. Although she allegedly made it clear that she wished to keep the broken business class seat and have a partial refund, she was informed this wasn't an option. She claims staff continued to press her to take the economy seats, and handed over a form for the seat reassignment. After sitting in her original business class seat, the passenger allegedly found only a broken tray table. She also learned that her seat opponent had accepted a downgrade from first class, on account of a broken seat. Two rows of business class had also been cleared out, apart from the crew rest seats in the cabin that were curtained off. This alleged series of events was told by the woman's daughter, who uploaded a screenshot of the seat reassignment form to Reddit. Claiming that her mother had been " scammed", she wrote: A few hours in, several of the crew/attendants get in the seats, cover themselves with blankets, and go to sleep. "Then on her flight back home there were no issues with her seat but she watched them run the exact same play on the woman in front of her in line with the form, technical issue, etc – she tells her and multiple of the passengers get to talking about it and corroborate similar happening to them on other flights. Same situation occurs with rows of empty business seats that the crew takes over midway through the flight." 'Technical snag' In a more recent review filmed back in May, aviation vlogger and content creator Noel Phillips documented his "awful" flight aboard Air India's "Filthy Boeing 797", showing followers sights such as a "grimy" window button, and a hair left behind by the previous seat occupant. They also spoke about how the power went out, and how passengers were told they'd been a "technical snag", after learning the flight would be delayed by 45 minutes. In one part of the video, a baffled Noel, who was travelling business class, shared: "So a passenger across the aircraft has got to their seat, and there's like a massive bit of metal sticking out of the seat. Okay, they've fixed it with a bit of gaffer tape, so that's all good, I suppose." According to Noel, staff initially didn't mind him taking a review video, but when the technical difficulties began, it allegedly became clear that his camera was no longer welcome, forcing him to be more "discreet". While inspecting the toilet, Noel was alarmed to find "liquid matter on the floor", and also wasn't majorly won over by the in-flight entertainment, where advertised content such as games, music, and even the flight map, wasn't available. Unfortunately, Noel's reading light was out of order, meaning he couldn't even read the newspaper he'd been handed at the beginning of the flight. He also advised future travellers to bring along a power bank, as neither the 3-pin plug nor USB were working. Flights deemed safe despite poor reputation Mr Jones noted that, before the airline was acquired in 2022, the overall reputation of Air India was "exceptionally poor", but regulators in the US and Europe continued to allow the airline to take passengers. He said it was important to note that the airline would not have been able to if any "significant safety lapses" were found. The expert said: "Prior to privatisation, Air India's reputation was exceptionally poor. But it's important to remember that the airline was still deemed safe by European and American regulators, who permitted the airline to operate flights to the US, UK and Europe. "If these bodies had found significant safety lapses then this would not have been permitted, as we saw over the last five years with Pakistan International Airlines which was banned from flying to these destinations until their safety record (and that of the Pakistani regulator) improved."
Time of India
22 minutes ago
- General
- Time of India
Kerala witnesses dip in number of candidates clearing NEET-UG
Kochi: There has been a decline in the number of students from Kerala clearing the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) this year compared to last year. After results were declared on Saturday, 73,328 candidates from the state successfully cleared the NEET-UG. This is a dip of over 13,000 candidates from last year's figures – 86,713. National Testing Agency (NTA) conducted the exam on May 4 which saw over 22 lakh candidates appear across 5,468 centres in 566 cities globally. Out of 1,27,442 candidates who registered from Kerala in 2025, 1,21,516 appeared for the exam. The test was conducted in 13 languages including Malayalam. However, the number of candidates opting to write in Malayalam declined significantly to just 481 this year compared to 958 students in the previous year. Despite the overall drop, Kerala still produced some standout performances. Deepniya DB, an OBC (NCL) candidate from the state, secured an all-India rank of 109 with a percentile of 99.9949. In the PwBD (Persons with Benchmark Disabilities) category, Shehin KK was ranked among the top five female candidates across the country, securing third rank in the examination. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Air conditioners without external unit. (click to see prices) Air Condition | Search Ads Search Now Undo The NEET UG 2025 results will be used for admissions to courses such as MBBS, BDS, BAMS, BHMS, BUMS, BSMS, and BSc Nursing courses. Kerala's state merit list and counselling processes are expected to commence soon, based on the all-India rank and other eligibility norms. Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
New Indian Express
22 minutes ago
- Health
- New Indian Express
DNA of 11 Air India plane crash victims matched with family members so far
The DNA of 11 victims from the devastating Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad has been matched with their family members, a senior official from B J Medical College confirmed on Saturday. Authorities are relying heavily on DNA testing to identify victims, as many of the bodies were severely burnt or damaged in Thursday's catastrophic crash. The painstaking process is being conducted with care due to its significant legal and medical ramifications, Dr. Rajnish Patel, professor of surgery at B J Medical College told PTI. 'We cannot afford to rush this. Each case needs to be verified meticulously,' Dr. Patel said during a media briefing. At a joint press conference, Gujarat Revenue Secretary Alok Pandey said the deceased hailed from 18 of Gujarat's 33 districts, as well as from other parts of India. Families of 11 foreign nationals who lost their lives in the crash have also been contacted, he added. To help families cope with the overwhelming grief, trained counsellors will be made available to support them through the trauma, Pandey said. Earlier, officials confirmed that eight victims whose bodies were recognizable and didn't require DNA testing had already been handed over to their families. The central government has formed a high-level, multi-disciplinary committee led by the Union Home Secretary to investigate the cause of the crash. The tragedy struck just moments after flight AI171 took off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The aircraft crashed within the grounds of the B J Medical College campus in Meghaninagar, bursting into flames.
