Ahmedabad plane crash: PM Modi visits Air India plane crash site, which killed 265 people

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at the Ahmedabad airport on Friday morning and is scheduled to visit the crash site of the Air India flight AI171, hours after the incident claimed the lives of 241 people, including 12 crew members. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu and Union Minister CR Paatil were present at the domestic terminal of Ahmedabad airport to receive Prime Minister Modi.

The AI flight, which was operating from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick on June 12, carried 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian national. Miraculously, one person survived the deadly crash, the airline authorities said, adding that the survivor was a British national of Indian origin.

The aircraft was piloted by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a Line Training Captain with 8,200 hours of flying experience, assisted by First Officer Clive Kundar, who had logged 1,100 flying hours.

According to Air Traffic Control (ATC), the aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1339 IST (0809 UTC) from runway 23. It made a Mayday call to ATC, but thereafter, the aircraft did not respond to the calls made by ATC. Immediately after departing Runway 23, the aircraft crashed outside the airport perimeter. An official said heavy black smoke was coming from the accident site.

On Thursday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah met with Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and obtained detailed information about the entire incident. Shah said that there was no chance of saving anyone in the London-bound Air India plane crash because of the high temperature caused by the burning of almost 1.25 lakh litres of fuel in the aircraft.

Expressing condolences to family members of those killed, Shah said the exact number of deaths will be officially released only after DNA tests. Shah revealed that approximately 1000 DNA tests have been conducted so far.

"The plane carried almost 125,000 litres of fuel, and due to the high temperature, there was no chance of saving anyone... I visited the crash site," the Home Minister told the media.

"In just 10 minutes of the incident, we got the information. After that, I informed the Prime Minister, the Gujrat Home Minister, the Control Room of the Home Department, the Civil Aviation Department and the Civil Aviation Minister. The Prime Minister instantly called back, and the personnel from the Union and state governments jumped in jointly for the relief and rescue operations," he added.

The Boeing 787-8, Air India flight 171 from Ahmedabad to London, crashed into a resident doctors' hostel building shortly after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is a division of the Ministry of Civil Aviation tasked with probing aircraft accidents in India.

A formal investigation has been launched by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) into the deadly crash of Air India flight 171 that killed 241 people onboard, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu confirmed on Thursday.

"Following the tragic incident in Ahmedabad, a formal investigation has been initiated by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), in line with international protocols set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)," Naidu posted on X. He informed that the Indian government was also constituting a high-level committee of people with expertise in multiple disciplines to examine the crash incident and devise ways to strengthen aviation safety by preventing such incidents in the future.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), a federal agency authorised by Congress to investigate civil aviation accidents in the United States (US), is gearing up to send a team of investigators to India to assist with probing the deadly Ahmedabad plane crash.

The Tata group-owned airline has set up a dedicated passenger hotline number, 1800 5691 444, to provide more information. Those calling from outside India can call +91 8062779200. The Tata Group has announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore for the families of each person who lost their lives in the crash. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from ANI)