The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has urged restraint in speculating about the cause of the Air India plane crash, emphasizing that the investigation is ongoing and premature narratives should be avoided.
The Air India plane AI-171 from Ahmedabad to London crashed immediately after take-off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Ahmedabad airport on Thursday, as per the Gujarat State Police Control Room.
Addressing close to 700 employees and the leadership team across the Air India headquarters and Air India Training Academy in Gurugram, Chandrasekaran urged them to stay on course, terming the accident the most "heartbreaking" crisis of his career.
The truth about what triggered the fatal crash of the Dreamliner should not only help bring the guilty to book, but also outline the future course of action in aviation safety, notes Nivedita Mookerji.
Air India's flight to London from Ahmedabad, which has started operating with a new code post the June 12 crash of AI-171, was cancelled on Tuesday due to "operational issues", an airport official said.
Air India has cancelled eight flights, including four international services, on Friday due to enhanced maintenance and operational reasons, the airline said.
"Decoding of the black box is going to give in-depth insight into what happened moments before the plane crash," Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said at a briefing in the national capital.
The ministry of civil aviation clarified that, contrary to circulating reports, a video recorder that had been recovered at the crash site was not the DFDR.
Indian doubles coach Tan Kim Her praised Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty for winning a bronze medal at the World Championships but rued the missed opportunity, saying the doubles specialists need to work more on their fitness to go the distance.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has already launched a formal investigation into the incident.
There have been some cases where the entire family has perished or both spouses died in the crash, which are making the claims process particularly complex.
At Ahmedabad's Civil Hospital, DNA samples from over 190 relatives are being matched with victims of the Air India crash, a process expected to take up to 72 hours.
Of these, as many as seven are Level-1 violations, which are considered critical safety risks and require immediate corrective action by the air operator, they said.
The Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (ICPA) defends the crew of the crashed AI 171 flight, rejecting insinuations of pilot suicide and calling for a fair investigation.
Several foreign experts were seen scouting the crash site for the last two days, checking the debris to find clues.
The process of identification of victims by matching the DNA samples is currently underway, and the bodies will be handed over to their relatives once the process is complete.
'If anything happened out of the normal, there would be instantaneous ECAM, EICAS warnings, the master caution or master warnings going off.' 'It would be like a Christmas tree in the cockpit if things start going wrong.'
Former Civil Aviation Minister and senior NCP leader Praful Patel on Wednesday questioned the "silence" of Singapore Airlines over the horrific crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner in Ahmedabad last week.
Pilots typically operate the fuel control switches during two key phases: At engine start-up on the ground and during engine shutdown after landing.
'$125 million for the hull and the remaining of over $350 million for liability.'
Ramesh Chand Patel, a regular visitor to Gujarat and deeply connected to his roots, had come to India for just nine days.
At least 265 bodies were sent to the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital for post-mortem after the crash on Thursday. Of these, only six victims were identified as their faces were intact, inspector Chirag Gosai said.
An official expressed hope that the DNA profiling all the victims will be completed by either Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning.
Speaking about the building in which the plane crashed, the eyewitness said, "It is a residential building, doctors live there."
Air India pilots said Ahmedabad airport has long been known for bird activity near the runway, which could have contributed to the incident.
All the 12 cabin crew members, including two pilots, on board the ill-fated London-bound Air India flight were killed in the Ahmedabad air crash on Thursday.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel met the family members of Rupani and informed them about the DNA match, state Health Minister Rushikesh Patel said.
'The overall well-being of the pilots should be at the top of any airline's agenda in such situations.'
'Visualise those 15 to 18 seconds: Fully loaded aircraft, pilot manually controlling with both hands (no autopilot immediately after takeoff), looking forward while switches are behind.'
'...rectification has to happen then and there, and that takes additional time.'
The Ahmedabad Civil Hospital performed the last rites for body parts of 19 victims of the June 12 Air India plane crash. The body parts were discovered after the initial remains were handed over to families.
A week after the devastating Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad claimed 270 lives, investigators on Thursday continued to sift for clues to ascertain the cause, while the government said the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau will decide where to decode the black box of the ill-fated Dreamliner.
Akasa Air's standalone net loss rose 18.7 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to roughly Rs 1,983 crore in 2024-25 (FY25), driven by rising employee costs, aircraft maintenance and airport charges, and a sharp increase in foreign exchange (forex) expenses, sources privy to the development told Business Standard.
Authorities are carrying out DNA tests to establish the identity of the victims as many bodies were charred beyond recognition or severely damaged.
In an internal communication to the employees, he also said that when Tata Sons took over Air India, ensuring the safety of its passengers was its first and foremost priority and "there was no compromising on it."
Why not stream all the data in real time to multiple recipients? It would make the investigation of aviation incidents much easier and far more transparent, recommends Devangshu Datta.
'The black box is very much in India and it it currently being investigated by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau'
With the finding of both black boxes of the plane, it would be easy for investigators to ascertain the cause of the crash.
'The AAIB will collect every single retrievable piece of the aircraft and transport it to a secure location -- usually a large hangar capable of housing a Boeing 787.' 'The entire aircraft will be laid out, each part marked and tagged, and practically rebuilt like a jigsaw puzzle.'
'In multi-pilot operations, no critical switch can be moved without the other pilot's consent.'
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