Latest news with #NatarajanChandrasekaran
Sky News
16 hours ago
- Business
- Sky News
Air India suspends some long-haul flights after fatal crash and reduces the frequency of others
Air India has confirmed it is suspending some of its long-haul flights from Saturday, including routes using the same type of Boeing aircraft which crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad. The decision follows last Thursday's fatal crash involving a Boeing 787-8 flight from Ahmedabad to Gatwick. All but one of the 242 people on board were killed, with around 30 fatalities on the ground, in the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade. It was confirmed on Wednesday that the sole survivor, a British national, had left hospital. Most temporary reductions will last until at least mid-July, affecting both 787 and 777 aircraft types, and includes routes to Gatwick. The firm said in a statement it was cutting international services because of "enhanced pre-flight safety checks" and to accommodate "additional flight durations arising from airspace closures in the Middle East". Routes between Delhi-Nairobi, Amritsar-Gatwick and Goa-Gatwick are being suspended entirely. 0:34 The frequency of other services will also be reduced from Delhi, Bengaluru and Amritsar to certain destinations in North America, Australia, Japan, South Korea and Europe - including Heathrow and Birmingham. The route between Ahmedabad and Gatwick remains unaffected. Air India has apologised and promised to contact affected passengers to offer alternative flights or refunds. The airline's chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran on Wednesday insisted the Boeing 787-8 aircraft had a "clean history". "The right engine was a new engine put in [in] March 2025. The left engine was last serviced in 2023 and was due [its] next maintenance check in December 2025," he told the Indian channel Times Now.. Meanwhile, India's aviation regulator has issued warning notices to Air India for breaching safety rules after three of its Airbus planes flew despite being overdue checks on emergency slides and for being slow to address the issue, according to news agency Reuters. The warning notices and an investigation report were not in any way related to last week's crash and were sent days before that incident. The government has also said there has not been any decision yet on where the flight data recorders, also called black boxes, will be analysed. Indian newspaper The Economic Times reported that they were due to be sent to the US so the data could be extracted, as they had suffered fire damage and could not be analysed in India. The government said in a statement that India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) would decide where the recorders would be examined after making a "due assessment" of all technical, safety and security considerations. Black boxes have two components - the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder - and provide crucial insights for crash investigators. They include altitude, airspeed, the status of controls and pilot conversations which help determine probable causes of crashes.
Telegraph
18 hours ago
- General
- Telegraph
Air India crash jet had new engine
The Air India chairman has defended the engines of the plane that crashed last week killing 270 people. Natarajan Chandrasekaran claimed that both engines had 'clean' histories, adding that one was new in March and the other was not due for servicing until December. All but one of the passengers and crew died when the Boeing 787 Dreamliner plunged into a built-up suburb last Thursday, less than a minute after take-off from Ahmedabad airport. The circumstances have led to speculation the engines failed after leaving the runway. However, in an interview with an Indian news channel, Mr Chandrasekaran advised against jumping to conclusions. Mr Chandrasekaran told Times Now: 'The right engine was a new engine put [in] in March 2025. The left engine was last serviced in 2023 and due for its next maintenance check in December 2025. 'There are a lot of speculations and a lot of theories. But the fact that I know so far is this particular aircraft, this specific tail, AI171, has a clean history. 'I am told by all the experts that the black box and recorders will definitely tell the story. So, we just have to wait for that.' In response to the crash, all Indian-registered Dreamliners are undergoing special inspections. However, neither Indian nor US aviation regulators have demanded the grounding of all 787s until those checks are carried out. Mr Chandrasekaran's comments came after India's aviation watchdog demanded the training records of the pilots. Stephanie Pope, the head of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, is said to have met the chairman to discuss the crash at the airline's headquarters near New Delhi. Since the crash, Air India has been blighted by technical issues on a number of its flights. Investigators have recovered two black boxes from the wreckage, which will contain vital information about what went wrong. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh was the only survivor of the crash. Sitting in seat 11A, on an exit row next to a door, he was able to escape from the wreckage before it was consumed by the post-crash fire.
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
‘Seen many crises, nothing like this': Air India chairman Chandrasekaran on plane crash
Tata Sons chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran on Monday said that he had seen many crises, adding that the Ahmedabad plane crash was the 'most heartbreaking' of his career. Chandrasekaran said this while speaking to Air India staff, according to sources cited in a PTI news agency report. His statement comes days after the plane crash in Ahmedabad, which led to the deaths of 241 of the 242 people onboard and reportedly 29 on ground. One passenger had a miraculous escape after the crash. Air India on Saturday announced an interim payment of ₹25 lakh to the affected families. The aid, announced by Air India CEO and managing Director Campbell Wilson, is in addition to the ₹1 crore compensation announced earlier by Air India for the families of the victims. Tata Sons and Air India Chairman N Chandrasekaran on Monday urged airline's employees to stay on course in the wake of the airline's plane crash in Ahmedabad last week, terming the accident the most "heartbreaking" crisis of his career, according to sources cited in the PTI report. Addressing close to 700 employees and the leadership team across the Air India headquarters and Air India Training Academy in Gurugram, Chandrasekaran said the employees need to show resilience and use this incident as an act of force to build a "safer airline". "We have to make sure that we stay the course. Be more determined in everything we do. We need to wait for the investigation to find out," the sources quoted Chandrasekaran as saying. "I've seen a reasonable number of crises in my career, but this is the most heartbreaking one which I never thought I would see," the sources quoted Chandrasekaran as saying. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner lost altitude under a minute after taking off from the Ahmedabad airport, crashing into the hostel of the BJ Medical College. Air India CEO Wilson had earlier said that families of the victims were also granted access to trained caregivers, who would provide them with "dedicated assistance, counselling and other such services. He also said that the airline's teams were working with the authorities and the families to provide assistance in the reunification process.
Mint
6 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Air India announces ₹25 lakh interim payment to families of deceased, survivor in Ahmedabad plane crash
Air India Plane crash: 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 to help address immediate financial needs, the Tata Group owned airline announced on Saturday. The latest amount announced will be paid in addition to the Tata Son's previously promised compensation of ₹ 1 lakh to families of each passenger who lost their lives in the deadly crash, stated Air India. As many as 270 people, including MBBS students, a resident PG doctor were killed after an Air India plane — a Boeing 787 — smashed into BJ Medical College's hostel in Ahmedabad on Thursday, June 12. Only one passenger who was seated on 11A at the time of the crash, miraculously survived. Air India's statement Yesterday, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chairman of the Tata Group, described 12 June as one of the "darkest days in the Tata Group's history" in an internal letter to employees. All 241 passengers aboard the ill fated flight, including former Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani lost their lives in the deadly crash. Only one Indian-born British national — Ramesh Vishwaskumar miraculously survived. Aged 40-years, Ramesh Vishwaskumar was visiting India to meet his elder brother, Ajay Kumar Ramesh, who was also travelling with him in the same aircraft. 'I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were bodies all around me,' Ramesh told Hindustan Times, adding that 'there were pieces of the plane scattered everywhere.' Earlier in the day, Indian Medical Association (IMA) wrote to Air India, demanding ₹ 1 crore each to the doctors and people who lost their lives around the hostel. The IMA president Dr Anil Kumar J Nayak also sought Tata Group Chairman N Chandrasekaran to announce a package after conducting a survey for any student or resident who is injured or disabled. The aviation ministry said that the last message of the pilot before crashing was 'Mayday', adding that the flight had climbed 650 feet in the air before it started descending.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Over 200 Killed as Boeing 787 Dreamliner Crashes on Takeoff
More than 200 people have died after a Boeing airplane crashed shortly after takeoff outside the Indian city of Ahmedabad on Thursday, authorities said. The Air India plane, Flight AL171, which was carrying 242 passengers and crew members, was travelling towards London's Gatwick Airport when it crashed soon after it departed from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. G.S. Malik, the city police commissioner, said 204 bodies have been recovered from the crash site, according to the New York Times. He added that 41 people were injured. Air India's chairman, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, said with 'profound sorrow' that the Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft was involved in a 'tragic accident.' 'Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event,' Chandrasekaran said. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the tragedy has 'stunned and saddened us' and is 'heartbreaking beyond words.' 'In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it,' Modi said. The plane had made a mayday call to air traffic control before it crashed, India's aviation regulator, DGCA, said, according to the BBC. The aircraft did not respond after declaring the emergency. The regulator added that the 242 people on board included two pilots and 10 cabin crew. Air India stated that the passengers include 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, one Canadian, and seven Portuguese. The airline added that the injured are being taken to nearby hospitals. Videos posted on social media show plumes of black smoke billowing from the crash site. The plane hit a dining area at B.J. Medical College when 60 to 80 students were inside, according to the Times. At least five students were killed, according to Minakshi Parikh, the dean of the college. 'Most of the students escaped, but 10 or 12 were trapped in the fire,' she said. 'The smoke was very thick.' India's Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said he was 'shocked and devastated' to hear about the flight crash in Ahmedabad. 'We are on highest alert. I am personally monitoring the situation and have directed all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action. Rescue teams have been mobilised, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support are being rushed to the site,' Kinjarapu posted on X. 'My thoughts and prayers are with all those on board and their families.' Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer paid tribute to all those aboard the flight heading for Gatwick Airport. 'The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating,' Starmer said. 'I am being kept updated as the situation develops, and my thoughts are with the passengers and their families at this deeply distressing time.' Data from FlightRadar24 shows the flight reached an altitude of around 625 feet before it crashed. This is the first time that a Boeing 787 aircraft has crashed, the Associated Press reported, citing the Aviation Safety Network database. All flights to and from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad have been temporarily suspended. Gatwick Airport said Flight AL171 was due to land in London at 6:25 p.m. local time on Thursday. A 2020 study from MIT found that air travel is much safer now than it was in previous decades. The current rate is now one death per 7.9 million passenger boardings, compared to one death per 2.7 million between 1998-2007, and one death per 1.3 million boardings during 1988-1997. Between 1968 and 1977, the chances of dying in a plane crash were around one in 350,000.
