Investigations have begun into the crash involving an Air India flight to London Gatwick which came down shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad Airport.
Flight AI171, an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed shortly after departing Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Thursday after sending a mayday signal to air traffic control.
India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, said: “The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us. It is heartbreaking beyond words. In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it. Have been in touch with Ministers and authorities who are working to assist those affected.”
Here’s what we know so far…
The flight, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, was carrying 242 people
What type of plane crashed?
Air India Flight AI171 was travelling from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad to London Gatwick Airport.
The flight departed at 1.39pm (8.09am GMT) on Thursday and was meant to arrive in the UK in over nine hours. but came down in a crash just 30 seconds after take-off.
The aircraft is a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which can normally carry a total of 248 passengers.
How many people were on the Air India plane?
Air India has confirmed that a total of 242 passengers and crew were aboard the flight that crashed on June 12.
The flight carried 53 British nationals, 169 Indian nationals, one Canadian and seven Portuguese nationals.
Forty-year-old British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh is the sole survivor of the crash., Air India confirmed.
More than 200 bodies were recovered from the scene, authorities said, but it is unclear how many are from those on board the plane, and how many are casualties from the ground.
The plane was piloted by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who had 8,200 hours of flying experience, and co-pilot Clive Kundar, who had 1,100 hours of flying experience.
Where did the plane crash?
The plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, a city in western India, in the state of Gujarat.
The incident occurred in the Meghani Nagar area of the city, a residential area just beyond the runway.
The plane crashed into accomodation for medical workers at the Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Medical College and Civil Hospital , where many students were having lunch at the time.
Ahmedabad’s police chief GS Malik said it was highly likely that there were also casualties on the ground where the plane crashed, and warned that “some locals” would have died.
Why did the Air India plane crash?
India’s aviation regulator, DGCA, said in a statement that the aircraft issued a mayday call but then stopped responding and crashed around 30 seconds after takeoff. ,
Flight tracking data ends with the plane at an altitude of 625ft (190m).
Aviation experts believe the plane may have lost power during the critical climb phase.
Possible theories for the cause of the crash include a bird strike, rapid wind change or engine stall.
Authorities have already found one of the plane’s two black boxes that will help in revealing what triggered the accident.
Details are still emerging of who was on board the flight – but Air India has confirmed 241 of 242 people on board were killed when the plane came down
Recently widowed Raxa Modha, 55, her grandson Rudra, two, and her daughter-in-law Yasha Kamdar are all said to have been onboard the flight.
Akeel Nanabawa, his wife Hannaa and their four-year-old daughter Sara (Family handout/BBC)
PA Media
Who is investigating the crash?
The Indian government has launched an investigation into the fatal crash.
India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has initiated a probe into the disaster in line with global protocols set by the International Civil Aviation Organization, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said in a statement on social media.
A team from the United States is expected to arrive in India to help. The National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing and General Electric are all sending experts.
Investigators from the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) will also work out what happened before the disaster on flight AI171 unfolded.
Ahmedabad is the state capital of Gujarat in the northwestern region of India.
It is 500km north of Mumbai and home to more than 7 million people.
