India’s Prime Minister Modi visited the sole survivor Viswashkumar Ramesh at the hospital on Friday – Image: Javed Dar/IANS/Handout/Xinhua/picture alliance
One of the plane’s two black box recorders has been recovered, as officials work to confirm the final death toll.
What you need to know
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the crash site in Ahmedabad in his home state of Gujarat
- One of the two black box recorders has been recovered
- India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said the black box was recovered from a rooftop near the crash site
- The lone survivor of Thursday’s crash spoke to the press, recounting the horror he experienced
Debate over air safety rages after Air India crash
Thursday’s crash has renewed debate about air safety in India, one of the world’s fastest growing aviation markets.
Air India has suffered a number of both fatal and non-fatal crashes over the years.
Prior to the Ahmedabad incident, the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner had never been involved in a fatal crash.
What is a black box?
A black box flight recorder is a heavily protected recording device, similar to a hard disk or a memory card that records all relevant flight data, in addition to communication in the cockpit
Previously, this data had to be recorded on two different devices but units are now capable of doing both.
Regulations dictate that every airplane must have two of these devices on board.
A black box must be able to withstand many accident scenarios without sustaining damage.
The data on the black box helps investigators determine the cause of an accident or serious incident and reduce the potential sources for error. However, investigators do not fully reconstruct a flight.
The so-called black box has never actually been black. The color is bright orange. Read more here.
The data on the black box helps investigators determine the cause of an accident or serious incident and reduce the potential sources for error. – Image: Emma Foster/dpa/picture alliance
Lone survivor in Air India crash describes his escape
The sole survivor of the Air India crash, Viswashkumar Ramesh, has described the events leading up to and after Flight AI 171 ploughed into a residential area in Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon.
The British and Indian dual-national, who was seated in 11A, described his experience to India’s national broadcaster from a local government hospital.
Ramesh said the aircraft appeared to be stuck midair within a few seconds of takeoff. He described seeing blue and white lights and the the aircraft accelerating but seemingly unable to gain height before crashing.
“It suddenly slammed into a building and exploded,” Ramesh told DD News.
“At first, I thought I was dead,” Ramesh said and added: “Later, I realised I was still alive and saw an opening in the fuselage.”
“I managed to unbuckle myself, used my leg to push through that opening, and crawled out.”
Describing his ordeal, Ramesh said: “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.”
Dr. Dhaval Gameti, who treated Ramesh, said he was disoriented and had suffered multiple injuries all over his body but appeared to be out of danger.
Indian authorities have set up DNA testing for relatives of passengers and those killed on the ground to identify the scorched bodies – Image: PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP
Boeing chief cancels trip to Paris Air Show — report
The AFP news agency reported that Boeing‘s CEO Kelly Ortberg has cancelled his trip to next week’s Paris Air Show, citing an internal message to employees.
According to the report, Kelly has opted to focus on the investigation into the Air India Dreamliner crash.
“Our deepest condolences go out to the loved ones of everyone onboard Air India Flight 171 and all those affected in western India,” Ortberg said in the message to employees obtained by AFP.
“As our industry prepares to start the Paris Air Show, Stephanie and I have both cancelled plans to attend so we can be with our team, and focus on our customer and the investigation,” Ortberg said.
The Paris Air Show is a major aviation industry event. (DW.com/NAN 14-06-25)
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