Latest news with #Gatwick-bound
Evening Standard
10 hours ago
- General
- Evening Standard
I'm A Celeb star Scarlette Douglas reveals she narrowly avoided doomed flight that killed close friend
The Gatwick-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, with 242 people on board, crashed in a huge fireball in the Indian city of Ahmedabad just seconds after it went into the air.
NDTV
a day ago
- General
- NDTV
'Right Engine Changed, Left Inspected': Air India On Dreamliner Plane Crash
New Delhi: The right engine of the Air India plane that crashed 36 seconds after take-off from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Airport - killing 274 people - was overhauled in March 2025 and the left was inspected in April, Campbell Wilson, the airline's Managing Director, said Thursday. The London Gatwick-bound plane was 'well-maintained, with its last major inspection in June 2023 and another scheduled for December 2025', Wilson said in an open letter to customers. The aircraft and engines showed no issues before the flight, and the pilots - Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder - had 13,400 hours of flying experience, he said. Reassurances from the airline's boss follow questions about the safety of the Air India's 128-strong fleet, of which 33 (32 after the June 12 crash) are Boeing 787 Dreamliners. The prevailing theory is a double engine failure or a total electronic or hydraulic malfunction, which is supported by aural and visual evidence of the RAT, or Ram Air Turbine, deploying before the crash. Deployment of the RAT suggests double engine failure, experts told NDTV. Experts speaking to British broadcaster BBC, however, said the condition of a plane's engine is not necessarily linked to its age, particularly in the case of the Genx-1B engines on the 787-8. These engines, ex- aviation investigator Kishore Chinta said, do not have a maintenance schedule because of a software called Full Authority Digital Engine Control thats monitors and flags issues. However, there are still parts that must be replaced regularly due to wear-and-tear, he said. Wilson told customers "thorough safety inspections" had been ordered on Air India's Dreamliner fleet and that checks had been completed for 26, which are now cleared to fly. As a precaution though, "enhanced pre-flight safety checks" on all Boeing 787 planes will continue for the time being, leading to a 15 per cent reduction in its use of widebody planes. This is expected to continue till mid-July. Wilson said the time to perform these checks, and factors such as airspace closure over parts of West Asia, "led to a higher-than-usual number of cancellations on our long-haul network". According to aviation regulator DGCA, Air India has cancelled 66 Dreamliner flights since the crash, with the highest number (22) the day after the disaster. Air India Ahmedabad-London Plane Crash The plane was carrying a full load of fuel and 272 people, including the pilots and 10 crew members. All but one - a British-Indian man with the most incredible luck - were killed. At least 33 people on the ground also died after the plane, which struggled to gain altitude after take-off, crashed into a residential area less than 2km from the airport. A widely-shared video of the crash, shot on a mobile phone by a teen boy from the roof of his home, showed the plane, its jet engines, shrieking shrilly but in vain, falling into the Meghani Nagar area. The tail section of the AI 171 seen sticking out of the hostel for college students. A hostel for medical students took the brunt of the impact; horrific visuals from the crash site showed the plane's tail sticking out of the building. Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was one of the passengers. The 'Black Boxes' The flight data and voice recorders, together called the 'black box', have been found and the information within could potentially explain the reason for the crash. However, the device suffered some damage in the crash and will require an extraction process to access the data. READ | Air India 'Black Box' Damaged, Centre To Decide On Sending It Abroad It is unclear if this extraction will be done in India or abroad. In the event the 'black boxes' are sent to the US, Indian officials will accompany it to ensure protocols are followed. What Happened To Flight AI-171 The plane took off June 12 at 1.39 pm, the Civil Aviation Ministry spokesperson said last week, and within seconds, radioed Ahmedabad ATC about a lack of thrust and then went radio silent. "Mayday! Mayday! Thrust not achieved..." were Captain Sabharwal's final words. Ahmedabad ATC immediately tried to contact the flight but there was no response. Seconds later the plane crashed into buildings in the Meghani Nagar neighbourhood, including the college hostel.
The Print
2 days ago
- Business
- The Print
Air India to cut international widebody flights by 15 per cent till mid-July, says will rebound
The airline also apologised to passengers who will be impacted by the temporary curtailment of overseas flights. In the wake of the fatal crash of the London Gatwick-bound Boeing 787-8 plane soon after takeoff from Ahmedabad on June 12, the carrier has witnessed international flight disruptions, especially with the ongoing safety checks of B787-8/9 aircraft. Mumbai, Jun 18 (PTI) Air India on Wednesday announced a 15 per cent reduction in international flights operated with widebody planes till mid-July as the Tata Group-owned airline grapples with operational disruptions due to enhanced safety inspections and Iranian airspace closure. Besides, the carrier will carry out enhanced safety checks for Boeing 777 planes as a matter of added precaution. The airline has recently seen operational disruptions, with at least 83 international flights cancelled over the last six days. In a late evening statement, Air India said there have been disruptions due to the geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, night curfew in the airspaces of many countries in Europe and East Asia and the ongoing enhanced safety inspections. The airline also said necessary cautious approach is being taken by the engineering staff and Air India pilots. 'Given the compounding circumstances that Air India is facing, to ensure stability of our operations, better efficiency and to minimise inconvenience to passengers, Air India has decided to reduce its international services on widebody aircraft by 15 per cent for the next few weeks,' the statement said. Details about the exact number of flights that will be impacted could not be immediately ascertained. On June 12, the airline was scheduled to operate 90 flights with widebody planes. Air India operates three widebody aircraft — Boeing 787-8/9, Boeing 777 and A350. According to the airline, the cuts will be implemented between 'now and 20 June' and will continue thereafter until at least mid-July. 'This effectively adds to our reserve aircraft availability to take care of any unplanned disruptions,' it added. Apologising to the passengers affected by the curtailments, the airline said it will inform them in advance and make its best efforts to accommodate them on alternate flights. Passengers will be offered a choice to reschedule their travel without any cost or a full refund. 'With the continued support of our passengers, the regulatory authorities, Ministry of Civil Aviation and India at large, we will come out stronger through this tragic incident and re-establish the confidence of our passengers and all stakeholders in our services, at the earliest,' it said. Air India emphasised that the curtailments are a painful measure to take but are necessary following a devastating event 'which we are still working through' and an unusual combination of external events. 'It is done to restore operational stability, and to minimise last-minute inconvenience to passengers,' the statement said. Air India and Air India Express operate over 1,000 flights daily. Air India also said the investigating authorities are continuing their efforts to find out the reasons for the aircraft accident. On June 13, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered enhanced safety inspections of Air India's Boeing 787-8/9 planes in the wake of the Ahmedabad crash. 'Out of total 33 aircraft, inspections have now been completed on 26 and these have been cleared for service, while inspection of the remainder will be complete in the coming days,' the airline said. Earlier in the day, Tata Sons and Air India Chairman N Chandrasekaran apologised for the plane crash. PTI IAS RAM DIV DIV This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- General
- Daily Mirror
Air India survivor will 'always feel guilty' for not swapping seat with brother
Brit Vishwash Ramesh, feeling significant survivor's guilt following his survival of the Air India plane crash said he believes he could have saved his brother's life The sole survivor of the deadly Air India plane crash has said he will "forever feel guilty" for not swapping seats with his brother who died in the horror crash. Vishwash Ramesh was the only one of 242 passengers onboard the Gatwick-bound Flight 171 survive, but despite his incredible luck, Mr Ramesh has told friends he wishes he "was not alive" and believes his brother could have survived. The 40-year-old from Leicester was meant to land back in the UK with his brother, Ajaykumar Ramesh, 35, last week, but instead remains in India, where he helped lay his sibling to rest. Ajay was on the other side of the doomed Boeing 787 Dreamliner when it crashed, while Mr Ramesh escaped with cuts, scrapes and bruises after he crawled free from the wreckage via a hole in the fuselage. Speaking to The Sun, Mr Ramesh has told how he now struggles with survivor's guilt, believing he and Ajay might have survived if he hadn't fought to ensure they were sat together at the time. The dad-of-one said he had tried to get two seats together, but the other he was hoping to get was already taken. He said: "If we had been sat together we both might have survived. I tried to get two seats together but someone had already got one. Me and Ajay would have been sitting together. 'But I lost my brother in front of my eyes. So now I am constantly thinking 'Why can't I save my brother?' It's a miracle I survived. I am okay physically but I feel terrible that I could not save Ajay.' The devastated dad-of-one added: "I wish I was not alive." Vishwash is not due to return to the UK any day now, and is currently recovering at a family home in the small village of Diu.
Daily Record
3 days ago
- General
- Daily Record
Possible Air India crash cause revealed by investigators in huge breakthrough
It comes after British families of crash victims were said to be facing 'pain and frustration' over delays in the identification and repatriation of their relatives. The Air India plane crash tragedy could have been caused because the aircraft was running on an emergency power source, investigators have revealed. The Boeing Dreamliner came down in Ahmedabad, India, last Thursday, killing 270 people, including 241 passengers, and authorities launched a probe into what caused the crash. The Mirror reports they are now considering whether an emergency power generator may have been in use at the time. It comes after British families of crash victims were said to be facing "pain and frustration" over delays in the identification and repatriation of their relatives. Relatives of Akeel Nanabawa, his wife Hannaa Vorajee and their four-year-old daughter Sara Nanabawa, who died in the crash, said they felt "utterly abandoned" by the UK Government and called for more support on the ground in India. Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer told the House of Commons that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) had set up its reception centre at a hotel close to the airport. He said: "We thought that would be the best place to receive British nationals rather than the hospital where, tragically, there are no living British nationals." He added: "But we keep these questions under review, as I know from my own experience in tragedies like this, it is difficult to get the assistance that British nationals need right first time, and we will learn lessons as each step goes through." Among the Britons believed to have been on the Gatwick-bound flight was Arjun Patoliya, who had flown to Gujarat from London to scatter the ashes of his wife, Bharti. Others included radiologist Dr Prateek Joshi, from Derby, and sisters Dhir and Heer Baxi, couple Fiongal and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek, and Raxa Modha, Rudra Modha and K Mistri, from Wellingborough. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. UK air accident investigators are in India assisting the Indian authorities, the Government said. The Foreign Office said: "Our staff continue to work around the clock in the UK and India to support the families and loved ones of all those impacted by the crash. "We have set up a reception centre at the Ummed Hotel, near the Ahmedabad airport, and have a dedicated helpline to provide support and advice for the families and friends of British nationals - friends or family should call 020 7008 5000."If you are in India, you should call +91 (11) 24192100 for support, including through in-person consular staff who are available to support families of British nationals, including accompanying them to the hospital."Furthermore, the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch has deployed an investigation team to support the Indian-led investigation on the ground, and UK forensic experts are there to support the consular response."
