A week after AI plane crash in Ahmedabad, debris, tail fin still lying at site as probe continues
A week after the devastating
Air India plane crash
in Ahmedabad claimed 270 lives, the debris, including the ill-fated aircraft's tail fin, is still lying at the site as investigators looked for clues to establish the exact cause behind the accident, said officials on Thursday.
The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 persons on board plunged into a medical hostel complex in Meghaninagar moments after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1.39 pm on June 12. As many as 270 persons, including passengers, crew members and people on the ground, were killed in the crash and subsequent fire, which engulfed the aircraft as well as hostel buildings.
The
Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau
(AAIB), a division of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, is leading the investigation and its members keep visiting the site as part of the probe into one of the worst air disasters in recent times.
While the Gujarat government on Thursday clarified that it has no role in the investigation, local firemen are helping forensic and aviation experts in their ongoing probe at the crash site, said Ahmedabad's Additional Chief Fire Officer Jayesh Khadia.
After the aircraft smashed into the medical hostel complex, its tail fin got stuck on top of the hostel canteen's damaged building and it was brought to the ground using cranes on June 14, two days after the accident, said Khadia.
Live Events
"The debris, including the tail fin, is still lying at the site. There are no orders on moving the rubble to some other place," he informed.
Inspector DB Basiya of the Meghaninagar police station, under whose jurisdiction the crash occurred, maintained that AAIB will decide the fate of the plane wreckage.
"Role of the police is limited to protecting the site. The plane's wreckage is still lying there. AAIB will decide what to do with it. It is possible that in the future, AAIB may take the debris to another spot for investigation," said Basia.
Days after AAIB found the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) of the ill-fated plane, investigators on June 16 confirmed that Cockpit Voice Recorder was also recovered from the debris, a crucial discovery that is expected to help ascertain the cause of the horrific accident.
The officials confirmed the recovery of black boxes to P K Mishra, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who on Sunday inspected the site.
AAIB has launched a detailed investigation, while the US National Transportation Safety Board is conducting a parallel probe under international protocols as the crashed aircraft was American-made, said an official release.
All but one of the 242 passengers and crew on board the Boeing Dreamliner (AI-171) and another 29 persons, including five MBBS students of B J Medical College, on the ground were killed in the crash.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
38 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Air India Flight 182: Canada identifies key suspect after 40 years
Toronto: Nearly 40 years after the bombing of Air India flight 182, the Kanishka, by pro-Khalistan extremists, Canadian law enforcement has finally identified a mysterious suspect who was linked to the terror attack. However, in another milestone in the travesty of an investigation, police have refused to name that person, who will never face charges as he is now dead. A Canadian flag in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Bloomberg) The outlet Vancouver Sun reported on Friday that the suspect who know as Mr X has been identified by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or RCMP investigators. However, RCMP's Assistant Commissioner David Teboul told the outlet that privacy laws prevented them from identifying the person who was with mastermind Talwinder Singh Parmar and bomb-maker Inderjit Singh Reyat when they tested an explosive in the woods in Duncan, British Columbia, prior to the attack. While the RCMP has maintained that the investigation into the Khalistani terror attack remains ongoing, Teboul conceded 'there's very little realistic chance of seeing this matter go to another trial.' This adds another footnote to the inglorious blundering of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service or CSIS, which did little to prevent the attack and in fact destroyed evidence, and the RCMP, which could only secure a single conviction, that of Reyat, in what remains the worst incident of terror in Canadian history. On June 23, 1985, the Kanishka exploded off the coast of Ireland due to a bomb planted there. Police have yet to even identify the person who booked the luggage with the incendiary device on to that flight and a second Air India flight. The second bomb claimed the lives of two Japanese baggage handlers at Narita Airport, bringing the total deaths in the terror plot to 331. Reacting to the identification of Mr X, former West Vancouver police chief Kash Heed said, 'This is the disdain I have for how this investigation has unfolded over the last 40 years. It adds to the frustration that the families and communities have gone through.' He asked, 'Would the treatment have been the same if the skin colour of the victims had been different? Do we still have information under wraps?' As to the statement that of there being another trial, Heed, also a former Solicitor General in British Columbia, said, 'From my perspective, you will see very limited resources ever applied to the investigation again.' Teboul was part of a Canadian delegation to Ahakista in Ireland where the first memorial to the terror attack was established in 1986. That official delegation is being led by Minister of Public Safety Gary Anandasangaree. Irish Taoiseach or PM Micheál Martin will lead a service at the memorial on the anniversary on Monday and Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri will be present, leading an Indian delegation. Retired Supreme Court Justice John Major headed a Commission of Inquiry into the tragedy. In his report, submitted in 2010, he wrote, 'This remains the largest mass murder in Canadian history, and was the result of a cascading series of errors.' As Edmonton-based Meera Nair, who lost friends in the tragedy, commented, 'What does it say about our values, that our worst brush with terrorism, the bombing of Air India Flight 182 on 23 June 1985 with the loss of all 329 people aboard, was allowed to happen? India had provided evidence of impending terrorism by Khalistani-extremists and had identified AI 182 as a target. But Indian concerns were crassly dismissed. That act of terrorism was our national introduction to Khalistan.' As the Canadian establishment including its media continue to normalise the movement responsible for the country's worst terror attack, it remains evident few lessons have been learnt in the country where the mastermind lived, planned and operationalised it.
India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Filmmaker Mahesh Jirawala among victims of Ahmedabad plane crash, DNA confirms
Days after the tragic Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad that killed over 270 people, the death of Gujarati filmmaker Mahesh Jirawala has been officially confirmed through DNA filmmaker, who had been missing since the June 12 plane crash incident, was identified after DNA samples collected from his family matched one of the bodies recovered from the crash to police and medical authorities, Mahesh was last traced to the vicinity of the crash site, with his mobile location placing him near the scene shortly before the accident. Although the family was initially unwilling to accept that he had died in the fire caused by the crash, confirmation came when DNA testing matched their sample with a charred body found investigation revealed that a two-wheeler, recovered completely burnt from the crash site, belonged to Mahesh. This was verified using the chassis and engine numbers of the filmmaker's remains have now been handed over to the wife said police told her his phone was last traced 700 meters from the crash site and switched off just a minute before the flight took off."My husband called me at 1.14pm to tell me his meeting is over and that he is on his way home. However, when he did not return, I called up on his phone but it was switched off. After police was intimated, the last location of his mobile phone showed he was 700 metres away from the crash site," Hetal had told phone got switched off around 1:40pm (a minute after the ill-fated flight took off). His scooter and mobile phone are missing. All this is unusual since he would never use that route (as per the last location) to come home. We have submitted DNA samples to check if he was one of those killed on the ground due to the crash," she June 12 crash of Air India Delhi-Ahmedabad-London flight claimed the lives of over 270 people, including both passengers and local residents. IN THIS STORY#Air India
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
Gujarati Filmmaker Mahesh Jirawala, Missing Since Air India Plane Crash, Confirmed Dead After DNA Match
New Delhi: The death of Gujarati filmmaker Mahesh Kalavadia, also known as Mahesh Jirawala, has been officially confirmed following the tragic Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad on June 12. The confirmation came after DNA test results matched his family's samples. Earlier, Mahesh Jirawala's wife had shared that his mobile phone's last known location was about 700 meters from the crash site. Based on this, she feared he was among the victims and had submitted DNA samples for verification. "According to the last location of his phone, the filmmaker was present at a distance of 700 meters from the accident site," she said. She had assumed that he had died in the crash. A burnt Activa scooter belonging to Jirawala was recovered from the site, raising suspicion that he may have been struck by the crashing aircraft. His phone was later found at the site in a switched-off state, which further supported the possibility that he was among the casualties. DNA test results eventually confirmed his death. Initially, the family refused to accept the body, holding out hope that he might have survived. "They were not ready to believe his death," sources said. However, once police presented key evidence, including the chassis number of the Activa scooter and the DNA, the family broke down and accepted the truth. Mahesh Jirawala was a resident of Naroda in Ahmedabad and was known for directing Gujarati music videos and projects related to AIDS awareness. He was the CEO of Mahesh Jirawala Productions and had directed a Gujarati film in 2019. He is survived by his wife, Hetal, and their two children, a daughter and a son. According to official data, a total of 231 DNA identifications have been completed in the Ahmedabad crash so far, and 210 bodies have been handed over to the families. The victims include 155 Indians, 36 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals, one Canadian citizen, and nine local residents. The Air India flight, which was flying from Ahmedabad to London, crashed into the B J Medical Hostel in Shahibaug on June 12. Over 279 people were killed in the incident.
