Latest news with #AI-717
Mint
2 days ago
- Mint
Air India plane crash: Six days after tragedy, 'missing' woman and two-year-old granddaughter confirmed dead
Days after the tragic Air India AI-717 plane crash the suspense surrounding a 52-year-old 'missing' woman and her granddaughter ended after a DNA test confirmed they were among the deceased, PTI quoted her family as saying. According to the report, Sarlaben Thakor has been employed as a cook at the mess at a medical hostel complex in Ahmedabad for the past 15 years. Sarlaben and two-year-old granddaughter Aadhya were handed over to their family members on Thursday at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital after a DNA test confirmed their death in the June 12 tragedy. "After the DNA test, the bodies of my mother Sarlaben and daughter Aadhya were handed over to us on Thursday. With a heavy heart, we cremated them the same day," PTI quoted Ravi Thakor, son of the woman, as saying. Ravi Thakor along with his family, including his deceased mother, and wife Lalita, for the past 15 years used to cook food for MBBS students at the hostel mess of BJ Medical College situated in Meghaninagar, where the tragedy struck in the afternoon more than a week ago. Just before the AI-717 plane crash, Ravi and Lalita Thakor left the mess for Civil Hospital to deliver food tiffins for senior resident doctors, while Aadhya and Sarlaben remained at the mess, where MBBS students living in the hostel gather for meal. "We left the mess at around 1 pm to deliver tiffins at the hospital. At around 1:40 pm, a plane suddenly smashed into the mess as well as the adjoining hostel building, and the entire area was engulfed in fire. When we reached the spot, my mother and daughter were missing while all other women working in the mess managed to come out," said Ravi Thakor. Following the AI-717 crash, Ravi Thakor and his wife frantically searched for Sarlaben and Aadhya at every possible location, including all wards of Civil Hospital and even the post-mortem room, but failed to locate them. Ravi's wife Lalita said they used to take along their son and daughter to the mess every day and leave them in custody of Sarladevi while going out to deliver tiffins at Civil Hospital. "My son was also in that building when the plane crashed. Luckily, he took cover inside the laundry shop of the hostel and then came out safely. After failing to locate my daughter and mother-in-law, we registered a missing persons' complaint and gave our DNA samples for matching with bodies," she said. Doctors matched the DNA samples with the mortal remains of Sarlaben and Aadhya a week after the crash and handed them over to the grieving kin on Thursday after establishing their identity. On 12 June, at 1.39 pm, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, with 242 persons on board crashed into the medical hostel complex in Meghaninagar moments after taking off for London from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. In the accident, more than 270 persons, including passengers and crew members (241) and those on the ground (29), were killed, while subsequent fire, which engulfed the aircraft as well as hostel buildings killed more people.
Mint
6 days ago
- Politics
- Mint
Air India plane crash: High-level committee discusses possible causes of aircrash; 119 victims identified
Four days after the horrific crash of an Air India plane AI-717 that claimed over 270 lives, the government of India-led high-level multi-disciplinary committee on Monday deliberated on various possible theories that could have led to the country's worst air disaster in decades. Chaired by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, the panel heard to the opinions of various stakeholders about the possible causes of the aircrash. Apart from this, the panel also discussed "formulating Standard Operating Procedures for preventing such occurrences in the future". According to the details, 119 victims have so far been identified through DNA matching. While 76 bodies were handed over to their families. Earlier on Thursday, a London Air India flight crashed in Ahmedabad at around 1.39 pm, killing 229 passengers and 12 crew members on board. According to the details, over 270 people have died in the incident. a) 119 victims have so far been identified through DNA matching and 76 bodies, including that of former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, were handed over to their families. b) Apart from 241 passengers and crew, the crash also killed 29 persons on the ground, including five MBBS students. c) Following the crash, the Union government set up a high-level multi-disciplinary committee, which would be led by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan. d) The authorities have recovered both the black boxes of the plane from the crash site. e) The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is investigating the technical aspects of the crash, while the high-level committee is going to provide a holistic, policy-oriented roadmap for future safeguards. f) Stephanie Pope, head of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, met the chairman of Air India on Monday in India. g) The Air India plane crash triggered one of the country's costliest claims, estimated at around $475 million or ₹ 39.4 billion, reported Bloomberg. h) 22 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft in the Indian fleet were inspected after a London-bound Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad last week, reported Hindustan Times. j) Air India will be providing an interim payment of ₹ 25 lakh each to the families of the deceased and to the survivor of the Ahmedabad plane crash. This is in addition to ₹ 1 crore compensation announced by Tata Sons.
Mint
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Ahmedabad Plane Crash: Did Turkish Technic service maintain AI-717 Dreamliner? Here's what Turkiye officials say
Amid Baba Ramdev alleged involvement of a Turkish maintenance agency behind Air India AI-717 plane crash, the Turkish government has denied the involvement of Turkish Technic in the maintenance of the Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The communication wing of the government on 13 June said that the claim that Turkish Technic maintained the AI-171 aircraft 'is false' and 'constitutes disinformation aimed at manipulating public opinion" on India-Turkey relations. 'The claim that 'the maintenance of the Boeing 787-8 passenger aircraft was carried out by Turkish Technic' following the crash of an Air India passenger aircraft during take-off is false. The claim that the crashed aircraft was maintained by Turkish Technic constitutes disinformation aimed at manipulating public opinion regarding Türkiye-India relations," the Turkish government said on June 13 on X. 'Under the agreements made between Air India and Turkish Technic in 2024 and 2025, maintenance services are provided exclusively for B777-type wide-body aircraft. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner involved in the accident does not fall within the scope of this agreement. To date, Turkish Technic has not conducted maintenance on any Air India aircraft of this type," it added. Though the Turkish authorities acknowledged that they were aware of the firm responsible for the last maintenance of the crashed aircraft, they refrained from revealing the name. "Although we are aware of which company performed the most recent maintenance on the crashed aircraft, it is beyond our scope to make a statement on this matter to avoid further speculation. The Center for Countering Disinformation will continue to monitor and take the necessary measures against efforts that target the reputation of our flagship brands, which represent Türkiye on the international stage," the Turkish government said. Among other things, the Turkish authorities said that they sincerely share the grief of the Indian people over this tragic plane crash, where over 270 people were killed. Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Saturday had alleged the involvement of a Turkish maintenance agency whose contract with Indian airports was terminated in May 2025. 'I got to know that an agency from Turkiye used to take care of the maintenance and service of the aircraft. India will have to keep a close eye on the aviation sector,' Ramdev told ANI news agency. 'There is a possibility of a conspiracy by that agency.' Though he didn't provide any evidence for his claims, but said India must stop allowing foreign companies to interfere in such sensitive matters.
Mint
14-06-2025
- General
- Mint
Air India plane crash: Dream of auto driver's daughter to pursue MTech in London ends in tragedy
Days after the horrific Air India flight AI-717 crash, emotional stories of the passengers onboard are coming to the limelight. One such story is of young woman from Gujarat's Himatnagar – Payal Khatik. Payal, daughter of a loading rickshaw boarded an aeroplane to travel out of the country for the first time on Thursday, reported NDTV. She was amongst the 230 passengers on the Air India Ahmedabad-Gatwick flight which crash after just taking off in Ahmedabad. Payal was the first member of the family to board a flight and she was travelling to the United Kingdom, to pursue a Master's degree in engineering and technology. At around 10 am, her family bid a fond adieu to their beloved daughter and went home. However, within hours she was on the list of 241 passengers and crew who lost their lives in the plane crash. The Air India flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed and inked its name in the worst aviation disaster in 15 years. It hit a medical college building in the city, killing 274 people in total. Payal's death was confirmed by DNA analysis a day after the plane crash, and authorities are investigating why this happened. Speaking to ANI, her father, Suresh Khatik said, 'After completing her college, she stayed with us... she wanted to study further in London. So we took out loans to support her education there...' Suresh stated that he took loans hoping Payal's future job would help pay back and support the family. But now, they have no way to pay back the loans. "She was the first member of our family to travel abroad... she was going to London. She completed her BTech from Udaipur and was going for MTech. But this tragic incident happened. Our family is deeply saddened..." her cousin, Bharat Chauhan, told another news agency IANS. As per the details, Payel hailed from Rajasthan's Udaipur, who studied from Class I to Class X at the Adarsh School in Himatnagar. She completed her Class XI and XII from the Himat High School, added NDTV. "She was educated. She has brothers and sisters... and her father is a driver. But the financial condition of her family was not good," Payal's family friend Sushila Pathak said, whose son she had been tutoring for the past six years. Another relative said, "The financial condition of the family is not good. Payal used to take care of the family by giving tuition to the students..." Earlier on Thursday afternoon, Air India flight AI717 – from Ahmedabad to London's Gatwick – crashed soon after the take off. There were 230 passengers and 10 crew members onboard. However, only one survived the crash. Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, is carrying out the checks on the nation's 787s, Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said in a press briefing on Saturday in New Delhi. The minister added that the government had set up a special multi-department team to investigate all the non-technical aspects around the crash and has been given three months to report. India's accident investigation bureau is in charge of probing the technical aspects behind the plane crash. To determine what caused the aircraft to fail in the deadliest aviation accident in more than a decade, the investigators have been surveying the wreckage of Air India flight AI171. Investigative teams from the UK and US arrived Friday in Ahmedabad to assist with the crash probe.
