Latest news with #Mayday
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First Post
12 hours ago
- General
- First Post
Air India crash: Cockpit error or fuel system contamination, what brought AI71 down? Probe looks at 2020 UK mishap
The 2020 incident, which involved an Airbus A321, saw the plane's both engines malfunction shortly after take-off. Fortunately, the plane had gained an altitude of almost 3580 feet and was able to make the roundabout read more This handout taken and posted on the X (formerly Twitter) account of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) On June 12, 2025 shows the back of an Air India plane after it crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad. Image- AFP The officials investigating the Air India flight AI-171 crash are closely drawing parallels with a February 2020 incident at the UK's Gatwick airport, and are hunting for clues. The incident, which involved an Airbus A321, saw the plane's both engines malfunction shortly after take-off. The pilots made a Mayday call and returned to the airport after 11 minutes after a turnaround. Fortunately, the Airbus plane had gained an altitude of almost 3580 feet and was able to make the roundabout and touch down after declaring Mayday thrice. However, the people onboard the doomed Air India plane were not that lucky as it came crashing down after gaining the altitude of just 625 feet. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Looking for clues The UK Air Accident Investigation Branch (AIIB) later investigated the Airbus incident and found that the reason for the engine failure was fuel system contamination. This despite engineers clearing the aircraft for operations just ahead of the take-off. Notably, the AIIB investigators have joined the Ahmedabad plane crash probe. Officials are taking a look at AI-171's technical logs in the 24 hours preceding the crash. Plane lost power after take-off The officials meanwhile also appear to conclude that the plane lost power immediately after take-off, citing 'visual observation and wreckage'. 'The material evidence, which includes the wreckage and the videos of the takeoff as well as the crash, indicate a definite power failure on the flight. The cause will be known only when the black box data is recovered but we can estimate that since the flight was in a takeoff and its nose pitched up for the liftoff, the deployment of the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) could not help the flight make a safe turnaround as it had not even achieved the minimum altitude of 3600 feet for a safe path,' Indian Express quoted an officer as saying. The officer also dismissed speculations around cockpit error, saying the pilots 'may have tried their best to gain manual control'. 'It does not appear to be a cockpit error… The observations are that the power failure occurred as soon as the flight was airborne and was unable to climb to the safe path altitude… the (Boeing) 787 Dreamliner has a provision for a manual reversion control system to allow pilots to regain control of critical systems in the event of a hydraulic failure. This system is a backup, using RAT to generate power, but there was no altitude cushion to ensure a safe glide downward or for the pilot to attempt anything… It just dropped on to the medical hostel building, with the tail being impacted and separated due to its liftoff position. Had it achieved an elevation of about 3600-4900 feet, it could have been a different story as planes can safely make Mayday landings with the RAT,' the officer said. On fuel contamination The officer said investigators were looking at technical log of the aircraft to examine whether any technical abnormalities were flagged by any of the previous captains or maintenance staff. 'The aircraft was incoming from Paris to Delhi and from Delhi to Ahmedabad… In fact, it made a round trip to Paris from Delhi on June 11-12. Just a day earlier, it had returned to Delhi after a round trip to Tokyo. We will check the technical logs to see if any of the engineering teams or pilots of the previous flight left comments on the performance of both engines or experienced any ECAM (Electronic Centralised Aircraft Monitor) message during the flight, accompanied by any thrust issues during flight,' the officer said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'At this point, we have no reason to speculate a sabotage but if the cause of the engine failure is fuel contamination, which is most likely due to water, the maintenance records of the flight, which are also under scrutiny, will reveal if it was due to oversight or negligence or corrosion in the fuel system, leading to clogging which is rare if the aircraft is regularly serviced. Fuel contaminated with water is the most common cause of power loss in flights and, many times, cannot be detected until the aircraft is actually airborne,' the officer said.
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Business Standard
3 days ago
- General
- Business Standard
Mayday call issued moments before Ahmedabad plane crash: What it means
The pilots of the London-bound Air India flight, issued a 'Mayday' distress call moments after take-off. However, the flight crashed and caught fire soon after. Watch the video to understand what exactly is 'Mayday' and what happens after a Mayday call.
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Daily Mirror
'I saw Air India crash as it happened - terrifying detail will haunt me forever'
A 17-year-old witnessed the devastating Air India plane crash last week while visiting his family and recalled the harrowing moments before it claimed 241 lives onboard A teenager who was innocently filming a plane taking off ended up witnessing the horrific Air India crash in real time. On Thursday afternoon, Aryan Ansari stood on a terrace of a three-storey building to take a video on his phone of the Boeing 787 after it left Ahmedabad airport. The teen was unaware of the horror that was seconds away and was simply recording the aircraft in a bid to show his friends "how planes fly." But catastrophe struck when the Air India flight AI 171, which was headed for London Gatwick, crashed into a medical college hostel in a residential area of the northwestern city of Ahmedabad just minutes after take-off. The crash tragically claimed the lives of 241 people on board - 53 of whom were British - and at least 29 on the ground. One lone passenger remarkably survived. READ MORE: Air India forced to abort flight over mid-air issue days after horror crash Aryan, who had been visiting his father in Gujarat with his sister, spoke to the local media after witnessing the plane crash. He said: "I came here on June 12. The plane was passing very close, so I thought of shooting a video to show to my friends. "The plane went downwards, and I thought it was going to land as the airport was nearby. But when it went down, flames started shooting up, and I saw that it had exploded. I was scared. I showed the video to my sister. I also told my father about it." The shocked teen also said that despite his dreams of flying, he is now put off from setting foot on an aircraft after seeing the tragic scene unfold. Aryan said he wanted to purchase textbooks during his stay with his father in Ahmedabad and reportedly returned to the Aravalli district on Sunday to continue with his studies. According to air traffic control at Ahmedabad Airport, the aircraft departed at 1:39pm local time and almost immediately gave a Mayday call, signalling an emergency. The plane failed to respond further, and footage shows the plane was only in the air for around 30 seconds before it appeared to run into trouble, according to the BBC. Several theories have been proposed about what happened that day, but investigators will examine the evidence to determine the exact cause. Brit Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, miraculously emerged as the only survivor of the doomed Boeing 787 flight. Incredibly, Vishwash managed to walk away from the wreckage after the central section of the plane, where he was seated in seat 11A, was spared from the worst of the impact. Speaking after the crash, he recalled: "I still can't believe how I came out of it alive. For a moment, I felt like I was going to die too." Vishwash added: "When I opened my eyes and looked around, I realised I was alive. I still can't believe how I survived." In the wake of the disaster, hundreds of grieving family members provided DNA samples at the hospital to identify victims.
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- General
- Daily Mirror
Hidden heartbreaks of Air India crash from mum's dying wish to pilot's brave act
As families endure the agonising wait of bringing their loved ones home, the Mirror looks at some of the hidden heartbreaks of those onboard the doomed flight In one of the deadliest aviation disasters in decades, 241 people on board the doomed Air India flight have lost their lives, with only one survivor escaping the Boeing jet. Mere minutes after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in western India, pilots sent a desperate Mayday signal to those on the ground, signalling that something was terribly wrong. This would be the last communication before the Air India Flight 171 hurtled into a college building in a residential area of Ahmedabad, while medical students had been eating their lunch. Over the weekend, search teams faced the harrowing task of recovering remains from the crash site, with a total of 270 bodies accounted for. Among those believed dead are 241 passengers and crew on board, including at least 50 British nationals. The remainder of the bodies are believed to have belonged to those who'd been inside the doctors' hostel or on the ground nearby. The condition of the bodies is such that families must now endure the agonising wait for their loved ones to be identified, delaying their final goodbyes. Incredibly, British passenger Vishwash Ramesh managed to survive the crash, walking away from the scene with just a few minor injuries. His survival is sadly just one ray of hope amid a tidal wave of grief. Investigations into the cause of the crash are ongoing, with those who've lost friends and relatives left with many painful questions amid their grief. It's still unclear exactly what happened in the air. However, devastating stories of those who stepped aboard that day have started to come to light, from a recently widowed father of two who never made it home to his children, to a "very kind" son who'd devoted himself to his father in his final months. Mother's dying wish Arjun Patoliya would no doubt have been dealing with a mix of poignant emotions as he boarded what was to be his final flight. The recently widowed father of two was returning home to London after scattering the ashes of his late wife, Bharti Patoliya, who had sadly passed away from cancer mere days before. In accordance with Bharti's final wishes, Arjun scattered her ashes in the sacred Narmada River in her homeland of Gujarat. For those who follow the Hindu faith, it's believed that being laid to rest at this holy site will purify the deceased's soul. Accompanied by loved ones, Arjun, carried out several funeral rites in his ancestral village, located some 150 miles from the city of Ahmedabad. He never made it home to his children. Now, in the space of just 18 days, Arjun and Bharti's young daughters, aged eight and four years old, have lost both their parents. According to a GoFundMe page, which has raised almost £580,000 for the little girls' futures, "Arjun left to bid farewell to his wife, never returned to the children they both raised. Now, these two beautiful young girls have been left without parents — their world turned upside down in just over two weeks." Pilot's last heroic act In his final moments, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal saved "dozens of lives" thanks to his quick thinking. The 55-year-old has been hailed a "hero" for diverting his plane into a patch of grassland, narrowly avoiding a direct hit on the doctors' hostel. This decision, made with just seconds to spare, will have saved many lives. Geeta Patni, 48, who lived close to the crash site, said: "The building was shaking. We were so scared. There was chaos in the street and fire and smoke. Any closer and we would have died. The pilot saved us. We have always worried this might happen because the planes go over so low." Another local, Jahanvi Rajput, 28, added: "Thanks to the pilot Captain Sabharwal, we survived. He's a hero. It is because of him we are alive. The green space next to us was visible to him and that's where he went." Sisters' birthday trip Sisters Dhir and Heer Baxi, who were both in their 20s, had flown out to Ahmedabad from London to surprise their maternal grandmother on her birthday. They'd been returning from the family celebrations when the plane went down. The siblings are remembered as "young talents" by devastated loved ones. Dhir had been studying to become a fashion designer, while Heer worked as a project director for an investment and renewable energy company. She previously worked in Singapore, where it's understood the two young women grew up. In an interview with The Telegraph, Dhir and Heer's older brother Ishan shared: "I can't express what my complete family is going through – shell shocked, not coming to terms is what I can say right now "Both had a natural aura of helping and always cared about family values. They both had aspirations to be successful enough to roam around the world, tension-free. Along with their parents, they both had a proclivity towards modernisation without changing traditional values. "Both my sisters know what is right and what is wrong, thus whatever work they carried out, in academics or fashion, they always got success with no conflicts amongst peers or seniors." Devoted son Manish Babu, remembered as a "very kind man", had spent the previous few months caring for his ailing father in India. After his father passed away, Manish set off home to Leicester, where he'd lived for 25 years. Shortly after boarding the doomed flight, Manish died alongside dozens of other passengers, in what has proven to be a "big shock" for dismayed relatives. Speaking with LeicestershireLive, Manish's cousin, Dhruven Nanji, said: "He had been in India for three months after his father passed away and was coming back. He's been here for 25 years and was well-known in the community." Survivor's horror The sole survivor of Air India Flight 171 has opened up about the horror he witnessed as he made his miraculous escape. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh told the Hindustan Times: "When the flight took off, within five to 10 seconds it felt like it was stuck in the air. Suddenly, the lights started flickering – green and white – then the plane rammed into some establishment that was there." The 40-year-old London man, who'd been sitting in seat 11a next to an emergency exit, explained that the section of the plane he was in landed on the ground, rather than hitting the roof of a building. Those on the other side would have had no way out. According to Vishwash: "When I saw the exit, I thought I could come out. I tried, and I did. Maybe the people who were on the other side of the plane weren't able to." He continued: "I don't know how I survived. I saw people dying in front of my eyes – the air hostesses, and two people I saw near me … I walked out of the rubble."
India Today
4 days ago
- Science
- India Today
US expert Steve Scheibner revises Air India crash theory, cites engine failure
In what could shed light on the possible cause of last week's fatal Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad, former US Navy pilot Captain Steve Scheibner has highlighted new evidence suggesting it was a dual engine the new video, the US aviation expert said he was revising his earlier view of the possible cause after examining a clearer Scheibner had suggested that the pilots' failure to set the flaps properly could have been one of the possible causes. He had also mentioned a bird strike or fuel contamination as other potential reasons for engine to a video of the Air India flight -- shot from a nearby rooftop -- that captured the moments leading up to the crash, Scheibner said there was sufficient audio and visual evidence to indicate that the ram air turbine (RAT) was deployed shortly after takeoff. A RAT, which is located just behind the wing on the right side of the airplane, is deployed to power vital systems of an aircraft when it loses its electrical and hydraulic systems or experiences dual engine failure. "You see kind it looks like a protrusion on the belly of the underneath, you see a little gray dot it almost looks like an artifact on the screen. That little gray dot is the RAT," he said."This is visual confirmation that the RAT was deployed," he then moves on to the audio evidence, pointing to a distinct "high-pitched squeal," which he says was made by a RAT, just before the crash."It sounds like a high-pitched prop, like a Cessna going by," he said."It's (RAT) not designed for an airplane that's at 400 or 500 feet and loses all power -- there's no time to get the engines restarted; there's no benefit to them," he added." It is to be remembered that the plane climbed to 625 feet before crashing the aviation expert cited the lone survivor's account wherein he said that he heard "a loud bang" and cabin lights flicker, moments before he escaped the plane. Scheibner pointed out that the lone survivor's account matched with what generally happens during RAT 20,000 hours of flying experience under his belt, Scheibner said that the jury is yet to be out on what actually caused the engines to collapse just after take-off. However, he feels that the traffic air control audio will reveal whether the real cause behind the Mayday call was a double engine failure.
