It was meant to be a routine flight from India to the UK – but just 30 seconds after take-off, flight AI171 was reduced to a blazing inferno.
It’s been six days since the Air India plane bound for Gatwick Airport shattered into pieces after smashing into a medical staff hostel close to Ahmedabad airport, killing 242 passengers and crew – everyone except one miraculous survivor, Londoner Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, sitting in seat 11A.
Another 38 people died on the ground, but that number is expected to rise as the search for bodies continues.
Meanwhile, the world is still waiting for answers, with some making lurid claims of a government cover-up.
So what really happened that day in Ahmedabad? Here are the key questions demanding answers:
When will we get information from the ‘black box’?
Investigators recovered the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) on Monday. The flight data recorder (FDR), which logs crucial flight parameters such as altitude, speed and engine performance, had been recovered from the debris on Friday. Together, the CVR and FDR form what is commonly known as the ‘black box’ of a plane. It is a vital tool in air crash investigations, helping experts reconstruct the flight’s final moments.
The Dreamliner’s black box has now been taken to a laboratory in New Delhi. Typically, preliminary data from black boxes is available within one to two weeks.
But in this case, rescue workers have indicated that it was severely damaged by the impact and the ferocious fire that followed the crash, meaning it could take several weeks before any data is recovered.
What caused the crash?
Investigators are focusing on a number of key areas. These include: double engine failure, problems with the plane’s wing flaps, and a landing gear issue.
A double engine failure, normally caused by fuel contamination or clogging, is an extremely rare occurrence and questions are being asked about the maintenance of refuelling equipment and where fuel is stored at the airport.
Another possibility raised by some experts in India is that birds may have collided with the plane moments after take-off. This can be catastrophic, especially if they are sucked into the engines. Gujarat state, where Ahmedabad is located, reported 462 bird strike incidents over five years, with most occurring at Ahmedabad airport according to Indian government figures from December 2023.
Who were the pilots and could they be to blame?
The pilot, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, had over 8,000 hours of flying experience. The co-pilot, Clive Kunder, 34, had about 1,000 hours.
According to sources, investigators are closely analysing the trajectory of the plane following take off. It crashed around 30 seconds after leaving the runway when it climbed to an altitude of 625 feet, but videos widely circulating on social media show it as if it was landing. This has led some to speculate that its flaps, which are vital for generating maximum lift, might not have been properly extended, causing it to dramatically drop.
This would suggest pilot error and has prompted India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the country’s aviation regulator, to demand that Air India hand over the pilots’ training records, qualifications, flight history, medical records and details of any actions that might have been taken against them.
Is the Indian government trying to cover up reasons behind the disaster?
Indian investigators have been reluctant to comment publicly on the areas they are examining but a source revealed: ‘Nothing is off the table as far as this investigation is concerned and that includes human error. That is a difficult thing to do given the nature of this accident and the huge loss of life but for the sake of the country, we have to properly establish what occurred.’
The investigation is being viewed as particularly sensitive because of the impact it may have on India’s wider image. Over the past two decades the nation of 1.4 billion people has gone from being viewed as a somewhat chaotic, disorganised country to one that is the world’s fifth largest economy and a major political power that holds its own in the international area.
Who is leading the investigation?
The investigation is being led by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), a government run body that investigates domestic air accidents. But a number of organisations from outside of the country are also involved as under international aviation protocols they have the right to participate if they have a connection to the aeroplane or its passengers.
Among those who visited the crash site this week were officials from America’s National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), as the Boeing 787 jet and its engines were manufactured in the US. Officials from Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) are also in India and inspected the crash site following the death of 52 British nationals in the accident.
Separately, a high-level committee set up by the Indian government to examine the reasons behind the crash is expected to hold its first meeting next week. It will submit a preliminary report within three months and propose new standard operating procedures to help prevent similar incidents in future.
Are Dreamliner planes safe to fly now?
Before the Ahmedabad disaster, there had been no fatalities tied to the Dreamliner model. But over the past 14 years since they have been flying there have been numerous concerns and claims by whistleblowers over their safety. Former Boeing employee John Barnett, who worked for the company for more than 30 years at its North Charleston plant in the US, where the jet is built, claimed that sub-standard parts were deliberately fitted to prevent production delays. Former Boeing engineer Sam Salehpour revealed that he raised concerns about ‘manufacturing shortcuts’ only to be told to ‘shut up’ by his bosses. Following his claims, the company is being investigated by America’s FAA.
Since last week’s crash, Air India has revealed that it had cancelled five international flights it operates using a 787-8 Dreamliner. On Tuesday, the flight on the same route as the plane that crashed was cancelled because of ‘precautionary checks’. A flight from Gatwick to Amritsar, in north India, set to depart at 8pm UK time was also axed. And an Air India flight bound for Delhi from Hong Kong turned back after the pilot suspected a technical issue.
Does the lone survivor hold any clues?
Mr Ramesh is the only witness to what happened inside the plane. He was interviewed in hospital, revealing: ‘When the flight took off, within five to ten seconds it felt like it was stuck in the air. Suddenly, the lights started flickering – green and white – then the plane rammed into some establishment that was there.
‘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 added: ‘I don’t know how I survived. I saw people dying in front of my eyes – the air hostesses, and two people I saw near me … I walked out of the rubble.’
Meanwhile, his relatives insist that Mr Ramesh does not hold the key to investigations. Nayan, his brother, revealed that Vishwash ‘has no idea how he survived’, or how he managed to exit the plane.
Why is there such tight control around him?
The political and national sensitivities related to the air crash are perhaps best underlined by how Mr Ramesh and his family have been treated over the past few days.
Within 24 hours of the accident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Mr Ramesh in hospital. After that, the media were prevented from speaking to him and he was effectively put under armed guard.
Inside the ward where he is being treated, which is usually reserved for VIPs, around eight officers from the Indian police’s Crime Branch department have been put on duty and have been restricting who comes to see him or who he speaks to. Around six other officers stand outside checking the identities of anybody entering.
His relatives claim that they are facing a virtual clampdown by Indian officials concerned about the impact the accident could have on the country’s image. One revealed that they have been refused permission to see him in recent days and that even his parents, who flew out from the UK over the weekend to be with him, were only allowed to stay for an hour.
The relative, who did not want to be named said: ‘We are not allowed to see him when we want and have been warned not to speak about him to the media or any outsiders. This has become a very sensitive matter and we believe that the Indian authorities are worried that if the cause of the accident is found to be neglect or pilot error then it could reflect badly on the country.’
Another said: ‘A lot of restrictions have been placed on the family and we are not free to come and go. Some of the relatives that were at the hospital were ordered to leave. We’ve been warned not to speak about him or what happened and that there will be serious consequences if we do.’
One said: ‘He was just a passenger who got unbelievably lucky, so we don’t understand why he and his family are being treated like this. Anything they have to say will not help the authorities understand why the plane crashed.’
Why have relatives of British victims claimed they are not being supported?
Following the crash, dozens of relatives of Britons who died have arrived in India to provide DNA samples so that the bodies of their loved ones can be identified. In searing temperatures, they have been gathering outside a building in the Civil Hospital, the largest in Ahmedabad, patiently waiting to go inside as volunteers hand out water to help keep them cool.
The absence of any British officials is noticeable, prompting anger that little is being done to help them. The Foreign Office has set up a support centre operated by around five British officials sent out from London soon after the accident to provide ‘consular and emotional assistance’. But it is located in a hidden office in a hotel close to Ahmedabad airport and few relatives of the British crash victims know about it.
When the Daily Mail visited, there were no relatives present, staff sat around chatting and there was no signage as to how to get to the centre. There have also been complaints about the length of time it has taken for relatives to receive the bodies of their loved ones and British relatives have called on the UK to help speed up the process.
Hamzah Nanabawa, whose brother, sister-in-law and their four-year-old daughter were killed in the crash, told media: ‘We’re not asking for miracles – we’re asking for presence, for compassion, for action. Right now, we feel utterly abandoned.’ He added: ‘There is no UK leadership in India, no medical team and no crisis professionals stationed at the hospital.’
What now for Air India and Boeing?
Air India was previously owned by the Indian government and had a terrible reputation for red tape, poor service and financial woes, losing millions of pounds annually. In 2021 it was bought by the Tata Group, one of India’s most powerful business houses which is worth close to £315 billion. It has extensive interests across the world including Britain where it owns Jaguar Land Rover, Tetley, steel maker Corus and British Salt. But despite being owned by a private company, Air India is still considered the country’s national carrier.
At the time of the takeover, it had losses of close to £750 million but the airline has shown signs of revival under private ownership with new aircraft ordered and services improved but according to latest figures, it is still running at a loss of over £400 million per annum. Last week’s crash could have catastrophic financial implications for the airline. It has already announced compensation of close to £100,000 for the families of each passenger but could also face paying out substantially more in damages if it is found that the crash was the result of negligence.
Relatives of those who died also have the right to sue the company in a British court and countries outside India where the passengers lived. If the cause of the accident is found to be the result of a manufacturing problem, then Boeing could face huge compensation payouts, signalling further financial problems for the company. Boeing posted a loss of just over £8.7 billion in 2024 bringing its total losses since 2019 to more than £27 billion. Experts have warned both Boeing and Air India could face ‘unlimited liability’ depending on the outcome of the air crash investigation.
