Final communication from Air India plane before it crashed has been revealed
The final communication from the Air India plane moments before it crashed in Ahmedabad has reportedly been revealed.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was on its way from the Indian city to London Gatwick Airport on Thursday (12 June) when it crashed just 1.5km from the runway at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.
The disaster tragically killed 241 of the 242 people on board, with just one single passenger, a British citizen called Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, miraculously surviving.
Air India said there were 169 Indians, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese and one Canadian on the aircraft when it crashed 'into a doctors' hostel'.
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And in the pilot's seat was Captain Sumeet Sabharwal alongside his co-pilot Clive Kunarl, who, according to the BBC, were both experienced fliers with over 9,000 combined flying hours between them.
The engine was also stocked up with over 100 tonnes of fuel, which was more than enough to get the plane to the UK, which only adds to the confusion surrounding the cause.
According to India's aviation regulator, a message was broadcast to air traffic control just moments before the plane went down, the BBC reports.
Calling out for help, Sabharwal reportedly said (via Belfast Live): “Mayday [...] no thrust, losing power, unable to lift.”
No response was given by the aircraft after that initial message, the BBC further says.
Among the British casualties who have been named are Akeel Nanabawa, his wife Hannaa Vorajee and their four-year-old daughter Sara.
Ahmedabad's police chief, GS Malik, said it is incredibly likely that some individuals on the ground will have also died as the result of the tragic crash.
Sole survivor Ramesh has since opened up on his harrowing experience.
"When the flight took off, within five to 10 seconds it felt like it was stuck in the air," he explained, as per Metro.
He said: "Suddenly, the lights started flickering – green and white – then the plane rammed into some establishment that was there."
Ramesh recalled: "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 went on to admit he 'doesn't know how' he was able to make it out alive.
"I saw people dying in front of my eyes – the air hostesses, and two people I saw near me," Ramesh continued. "I walked out of the rubble."
Topics: Air India, UK News, News, World News
Madison Burgess