Air India plane crash latest: ‘Extremely rare’ dual engine failure suspected while focus turns to pilot audio – UK Times

Navin Chaudhary’s lunch was interrupted by a deafening explosion. Turning, he saw flames engulfing the dining area where he and his fellow trainee doctors were eating.

As the fire advanced, Mr Chaudhary escaped through a window. From the ground, he saw the tail cone of an Air India plane jutting out of the burning building.

Driven by a sense of duty, Mr Chaudhary and his fellow medical students sprang into action.

All but one passenger died after the London-bound Boeing 787 aircraft crashed into the campus of a medical college in Ahmedabad city on Thursday afternoon. Only one passenger among the 242 aboard survived.

The CVR, which captures audio from the cockpit, including pilot conversations along with the flight data recorder, will be key to determine the possible cause of one of the worst aviation disasters in decades. The flight data recorder was recovered from the crash site over the weekend.

The Air India flight began losing height moments after take-off and erupted in a huge fireball after hitting the accommodation block of a medical college.

A Delhi-bound Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flight was forced to turn back to Hong Kong on Monday after the pilot reported technical issues mid-air.

The Air India flight AI 315 departed from the Asian city at 11.59 am local time for its scheduled destination in New Delhi. It reached an altitude of 22,000 feet, and then started descending, according to the flight tracking website AirNav Radar. The plane was 7 years old. Officials said the aircraft landed safely back in Hong Kong around 3.20 pm local time.

The grieving family of three British citizens killed in the Air India crash has criticised the UK government for a “painfully slow” and “disjointed” response in India.

They say they’ve received conflicting information, lacked access to medical and forensic support, and felt abandoned by UK officials.

The family of Akeel Nanabawa, Hannaa Vorajee, and their four-year-old daughter Sara Nanabawa is urging the UK government to improve its communication with relatives who travelled to Ahmedabad in Gujarat, in the aftermath of the crash.

A family spokesperson told The Guardian: “There is no UK leadership here, no medical team, no crisis professionals stationed at the hospital.

“We are forced to make appointments to see consular staff based 20 minutes away in a hotel, while our loved ones lie unidentified in an overstretched and under-resourced hospital.”

Abu Nanabawa, Akeel’s cousin said: “It seems to be a universally shared sentiment of frustration at the management of this whole crisis.”

He added: “At the moment, we just want to have the bodies so that we can bury them and mourn properly. In our faith and religion [Islam], it’s very important that the funeral gets done as soon as possible. It’s a part of the grieving process to bury and honour them, to return them as soon as possible and grieve them.”

Air India and Tata Group chairperson, N Chandrasekaran, told employees “we will figure out” what caused the crash during an address to 700 employees.

He also urged employees to remain strong and resilient following the deadly Ahmedabad plane crash, calling it the “most heartbreaking crisis” of his career.

“Criticisms are there, and those of us who are very passionate… who are working on making this airline a great airline, and who genuinely care about what kind of a company we want to build, but it’s not easy to face criticisms. I want you to be strong. If you feel distraught, the word you should remember is determination. We are going to get through this. We need to show resilience. We need to use this incident as an act of force to build a safer airline,” Mr Chandrasekaran said, according to The Indian Express.

“It’s a very complex business…it’s a complex machine, so a lot of redundancies, checks and balances, certifications, which have been perfected over years and years. Yet this happens, so we will figure out why it happens after the investigation. So we just have to stay calm and not put our shoulders down. This is the time to be brave, time to be resolute, time to know that you have the full support,” he told the employees.

Indian aviation officials have confirmed the pilot issued distress calls before the Gatwick-bound flight crashed in Gujarat state on 12 June, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground.

“Thrust not achieved… falling… Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!” the pilot said moments before the aircraft began losing height and erupted in a fireball.

An Air India flight from San Francisco to Mumbai via Kolkata experienced a technical issue in its left engine after landing in Kolkata, forcing passengers to deboard for safety.

The delay lasted over four hours. Flight AI180 arrived at the Kolkata airport at 12.45am, when it faced a technical snag and passengers were asked to disembark.

This incident occurred just five days after a deadly Air India crash that killed 241 people onboard.

On Monday, another Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner returned to Hong Kong shortly after takeoff due to a “technical issue”.

The pilot decided to turn back Air India flight AI315 as a precaution, citing safety concerns.

The plane landed safely and underwent checks. The plane is seven years old, Reuters reported.

An Air India flight from San Francisco to Mumbai via Kolkata experienced a technical issue in its left engine after landing in Kolkata, forcing passengers to deboard for safety.

The delay lasted over four hours. Flight AI180 arrived at the Kolkata airport at 12.45am, when it faced a technical snag and passengers were asked to disembark.

This incident occurred just five days after a deadly Air India crash that killed 241 people onboard.

On Monday, another Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner returned to Hong Kong shortly after takeoff due to a “technical issue”.

The pilot decided to turn back Air India flight AI315 as a precaution, citing safety concerns.

The plane landed safely and underwent checks. The plane is seven years old, Reuters reported.