AI 171 crash: Survey of Ahmedabad airport surrounding areas to be conducted, says district collector
Ahmedabad: A survey of the surrounding areas of the Ahmedabad airport will be conducted in the wake of last week's Air India Flight 171 crash that claimed 270 lives, a top district official said on Thursday.
The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 persons on board crashed into a medical hostel complex in the Meghaninagar area moments after it took off from the city airport in the afternoon of June 12. The ghastly air crash and subsequent fire killed 241 of the passengers and crew members, and others on the ground. "As per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)'s guidelines, a survey of areas surrounding the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport here will be conducted by the officials of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and the Civil Aviation department," Ahmedabad district collector Sujeet Kumar told reporters.
"Once the survey gets over, subsequent necessary work will be initiated," he said. The civil aviation ministry has released a draft of the Aircraft (Demolition of Obstructions) Rules, 2025, to tighten controls on structures that pose a threat to aircraft safety near airports.
In the last week's tragedy, the aircraft departed from the Ahmedabad airport at 1.39pm and its pilot issued a 'Mayday' distress call, denoting a full emergency, soon after take-off to the Air Traffic Control at Ahmedabad. Moments later, the plane smashed into the BJ Medical College campus located outside the airport compound. All but one of the 242 passengers and crew on board the ill-fated plane, and others on the ground were killed.
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