U.S. Investigators Arrive at Scene of India's Plane Disaster
Crash investigators from the United States have reached Ahmedabad to help piece together how one of India's worst plane disasters unfolded, with Indian government officials saying the cockpit voice recorder had been recovered.
The investigators, from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, are conducting 'a parallel probe under international protocols since the aircraft is American-made,' the Indian government said in a statement late Sunday.
Government officials also said that both the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder had now been located. The flame-resistant 'black box' devices could hold information about what happened leading up to the disaster, including the final communications between the pilots of the plane, which crashed less than a minute after takeoff.
At least 270 people, including 241 passengers on an Air India flight bound for London Gatwick Airport from the city of Ahmedabad, in the western Indian state of Gujarat, died last week as a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane smashed into buildings including the dining hall of a medical college.
The intensity of the flames from the crash has made the identification of passengers a mammoth task. As of Monday afternoon, 99 victims had been identified by matching their DNA with samples from relatives, said Dr. Rakesh Joshi, superintendent at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, where most of the bodies are being held. So far, the remains of 64 victims have been handed over to family members.
'Slowly and steadily the process is becoming faster,' Dr. Joshi said. 'We'll finish in a day or two.'
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
India Decides Whether to Send Air India Flight Recorders Abroad for Analysis
India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is yet to determine whether the flight data and cockpit voice recorders from last week's tragic Air India crash, will be sent overseas for analysis.
Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Los Angeles Times
New report details final minutes of flight that killed rock drummer and 5 others in San Diego
The private jet that crashed last month in San Diego, killing all six on board, was flying too low before it hit power lines and slammed into a house, investigators said Wednesday. According to a National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report, the plane reached a descent point about three miles from the runway that was too low, before dropping to 60 feet above ground level. The power lines that the plane struck were about 90 feet above the ground and about 1.8 nautical miles away from the runway. Portions of the plane's left horizontal stabilizer and its vertical stabilizer were later found about 200 feet downrange of the power lines, according to the NTSB report. The plane then slammed into a house in a nearby San Diego neighborhood. The victims of the crash included rock drummer Daniel Williams, music agent Dave Shapiro, booking associate Emma L. Huke, 25, photographer Celina Marie Rose Kenyon, 35, and booking associate Kendall Fortner, 24. Eight people on the ground had minor injuries, investigators said. Shapiro was flying the Cessna Citation jet on May 22 from Teterboro, N.J., with plans to land at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport in San Diego, when he encountered low visibility and thick fog, according to the four-page NTSB report. The automated system that provides weather conditions and runway lights weren't operating at the airport before the plane crashed, the report confirmed. The NTSB report said the pilot told the control tower that he knew the system that provides weather information was out of commission. The NTSB report said that the pilot asked the air traffic controller to help him determine the weather conditions at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport. Instead, the report said the controller gave the pilot the weather conditions at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, located about four miles north, where winds were calm and visibility was up to half a mile. The report also said that the runway lighting system had not been working since March 28, 2022, and that the repairs had been delayed awaiting the completion of an environmental study. The preliminary report did not include any conclusions or discuss wrongdoing and does not say when a final report is expected to be released.
New York Post
a day ago
- New York Post
Investigators reveal disturbing details surrounding private jet crash that killed The Devil Wears Prada drummer, 5 others
The runway lights that would have helped guide a doomed private jet carrying The Devil Wears Prada drummer Daniel Williams and music industry big shot Dave Shapiro before it crashed in San Diego hadn't been working since 2022, federal investigators revealed. The jet was also coming in too low in foggy weather and struck power lines as it attempted to descend into the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, according to the investigators. The details on the May 22 crash that killed all six passengers were laid bare in the National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary report published Wednesday. 4 Williams performs at the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival at San Manuel Amphitheater on June 30, 2012, in San Bernardino, California. Getty Images In addition to the lower-than-average descent and non-existent runway lights, the NTSB determined several other factors also led up to the tragedy — including the pilot not discussing alternate airport weather conditions with the air traffic controller. The pilot had acknowledged that weather conditions weren't ideal and debated diverting to a different airport while discussing the visibility with the controller, according to audio. 4 Debris covers the ground after a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood. AP 4 Authorities work the scene where a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, setting several homes on fire and forcing evacuations along several blocks early Thursday, May 22, 2025. AP But the pilot declared 'I think we'll be alright' before going ahead with the landing attempt. The FAA had posted an official notice for pilots that the runway alignment lights were out of service, but NTSB investigators noted that had been the case since 2022 due to delayed repairs. It wasn't immediately clear if the pilot, who had been based at the airport, knew the lights were out of service at the time. The NTSB added, too, that the plane was only about 60 feet above the ground — almost 200 feet lower than required — when it struck the power lines. 4 Former The Devil Wears Prada drummer Daniel Williams shared haunting photos to his Instagram story of the plane he was taking to California hours before it crashed. @xcadaverx/Instagram An official cause of the crash hasn't yet been determined. The NTSB's final report will be issued later this year. With Post wires
