In what is one of the most disastrous air crash in India’s aviation history an Air India flight AI171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner carrying 242 passengers and crew, crashed into a residential area in Meghani Nagar on Thursday just after take-off at 1.38 PM as confirmed by the Director General for Civil Aviation (DGCA). The Air India flight was bound for London’s Gatwick airport and was piloted by Captain Sumit Sabharwal and co-piloted by Clive Kunder with 232 passengers, including 230 adults and 2 infants, along with 12 crew members, totalling 242 people. The pilot had given a mayday call to ATC and then crashed outside the airport perimeter shortly after take-off. The plane caught fire after crashing and fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the blaze. As of writing this edit, it is not yet clear if the aircraft had any technical fault. Only one passenger seated on 11 A managed to miraculously escape and even limped his way to the ambulance with some injuries on his face. Since the plane crashed into a nearby building which was a hostel for medical students of the BJ Medical College, it is possible that some students there could have suffered injuries. Former Chief Minister of Gujarat who was on the flight was one of those who died in the crash.
Meanwhile the relatives of the deceased have had their DNA tests done so that they can claim the mortal remains of their loved ones. Since the plane went off in flames it was a challenge to pull out any of the passengers from the wreckage. The single survivor was probably seated in the emergency row. Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu and Home Minister Amit Shah are both in Ahmedabad to offer support and Prime Minister Modi too is following up on the entire rescue operations. According to aviation expert Sanjay Lazar, the failure of the aircraft to achieve height and be lifted up happened at a very low altitude of 825 feet. He said the aircraft was clearly unable to climb up. Other experts state that from an early analysis of flight visuals serious questions have been raised about the aircraft’s configuration and technical malfunctions during its final moments. They claim that as the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner departed its landing gear remained extended and its wing flaps were fully retracted which is an extremely abnormal situation for the critical initial take off.
As a result of the crash the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPIA), Ahmedabad, is currently not operational and all flight operations are temporarily suspended. It is learnt that two of the stewardesses are from Manipur. What was meant to be a vacation for some and work or study for others on the fatal aircraft has turned into a nightmare for their family members. This is also a call for better security measures and aircraft maintenance. After all human lives are involved and each life is precious. People get into a flight with full faith in the pilots and the airworthiness of the aircraft. While accidents can happen anywhere and at any time, extreme care is needed to reduce fatalities on account of pilot error or aircraft malfunction.
