Air India Plane Crash: In a tragic incident, a London-bound Flight of Air India, AI171 with 242 people aboard, crashed near Ahmedabad airport on Thursday afternoon. While casualties are feared, rescue operations are underway at the accident site. The plane reportedly crashed into a medical college hostel building and several medical students are also feared dead. The exact number of casualties is not known yet.
Air India shared key details about the plane and the passengers. “Air India confirms that flight AI171, from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, was involved in an accident today after take-off. The flight, which departed from Ahmedabad at 1338 hrs, was carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft. Of these, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals,” said Air India.
Visuals from the site show a thick plume of grey smoke rising from the ground. At least two dozen ambulances were rushed to the spot for relief and containment efforts. Some of the injured have been rushed to the nearby hospital.
Air India Ahmedabad-London Flight Crash Reason
Civil Aviation expert JP Singh said that the visual of the flight in the air shows that no smoke was seen coming from the engines and there was no damage to the body. He said that the smoke and fire seen in the video was after the crash impact was made. He shared that the aircraft could have been carrying 100 tons of Aviation Turbine Fuel as it was a long flight.Â
Experts are investigating the crash of Flight AI 171, suggesting a possible loss of thrust or lift, or a bird strike, as contributing factors. They noted that the aircraft’s engine appeared to lose thrust, and its landing gear remained extended at the time of the incident.
Since the pilot had issued a Mayday call, it’s being said that there was no option to make a safe landing. The flight crashed shortly after takeoff and was at a height of 624 feet before plunging and crashing into a medical college mess building. The most likely reason as per experts is said to be the engine failure but the exact cause will be known only after the black box data is retrieved.
