A devastating tragedy struck India when Air India Flight AI171 crashed just 30 seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad, killing 241 people. Only one person, a 40-year-old British man named Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, miraculously survived and is now being treated in the hospital.
The flight, a Boeing 787-8 bound for London, was carrying 242 people, including 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, 7 Portuguese, and 1 Canadian. Several people on the ground also lost their lives, as the plane crashed into a hostel housing medical students.
Now, the pilot’s final transmission has been released. In his chilling mayday call, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal told air traffic control: “Mayday… no thrust, losing power, unable to lift.”
Captain Sabharwal had logged over 8,000 flight hours. His co-pilot, Clive Kundar, had 1,100.
This is the first recorded crash involving a Boeing 787. Investigations are ongoing, and the world mourns alongside the families affected by this unimaginable loss.
