Search for answers begins in Air India crash that killed 241 people

Business Standard

13-06-2025

By P R Sanjai, Mihir Mishra and Danny Lee
Investigators have started combing the wreckage of Air India flight AI171 as they seek to determine what caused the Boeing Co. Dreamliner to crash shortly after takeoff Thursday afternoon, killing all but one of the 242 people aboard in the deadliest aviation accident in more than a decade.
On Friday morning, one of the two so-called black boxes, which contain critical evidence of a plane's final minutes, was located, according to the Hindustan Times. The report didn't specify which of the flight data or cockpit voice recorder was recovered.
The accident site is a scene of total devastation, with burnt debris and scattered aircraft parts still smoldering. The BJ Medical Hostel, where medical students were dining at the time of the accident, has been severely damaged, with four tower blocks half-burnt and blackened. Firefighters continue to spray water on the site, while police and officials work to clear the wreckage.
The focus yesterday was on rescue efforts, while the search for material evidence starts today, said a senior official from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau of India, who asked not to be named discussing private matters.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi briefly visited the crash site on Friday morning.
Questions are growing over how and why the 787-8 Dreamliner, bound for London, exploded into a huge fireball just minutes after takeoff. Video footage shared on social media showed a plume of smoke at the crash site. The miraculous survival of one passenger, Ramesh Vishwaskumar is also unexplained. Vishwaskumar, who was seated in the first row of economy class, may be able to offer valuable clues as to what caused the accident.
Officials on Thursday said that emergency responders had recovered more than 200 bodies, though they didn't immediately say how many were passengers, crew or area residents. They said the toll could rise as emergency workers comb through the wreckage.
The flight to London's Gatwick airport was carrying 12 crew and 230 passengers, most of whom were Indian and British nationals.
The 787 Dreamliner appeared to not achieve sufficient thrust as it lumbered down nearly the full length of an 11,000-foot runway, a distance that should have been more than enough to take off, said Bob Mann, head of aviation consultant RW Mann & Co.
That could stem from a misconfiguration of the plane prior to takeoff or erroneous weight data entered into the plane's computer system that determines how much power is needed to get off the ground, he said. Mann cautioned that his views were unofficial and not corroborated by data or cockpit voice recorders, which have yet to be recovered from the site.
'If the weight is high compared to the actual number, you end up with a very aggressive takeoff,' Mann said. 'If the weight is low compared to the actual, you end up with not enough commanded power.'
The pilots in command issued a mayday call immediately after takeoff to air traffic controllers, according to India's civil aviation regulator. The aircraft was in the command of captain Sumeet Sabharwal and first officer Clive Kundar, who had 8,200 flying hours and 1,100 flying hours of experience, respectively, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said.
According to air traffic control data, the jet departed from Ahmedabad at 1:39 p.m. local time using runway 23. After the initial mayday call, there was no response from the cockpit to subsequent calls made by controllers on the ground.
Thursday's crash marks the first-ever complete loss of a 787, a plane Boeing introduced more than a decade ago with advanced lightweight composite materials that improve fuel efficiency. The 787 has become a crucial source of revenue for Boeing, with 1,148 of the jets in service globally.
Boeing Chief Executive Officer Kelly Ortberg said in a statement Thursday that he has spoken to Air India Chairman N. Chandrasekaran and that Boeing is ready to support the investigation. Ortberg and Boeing commercial aircraft head Stephanie Pope cancelled their plans to attend the upcoming Paris Air Show, according to a company memo seen by Bloomberg News.
Based on the number of people on board, this is the worst commercial airline crash since Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in 2014, which was shot down over Ukraine, killing 298 people, according to Aviation Safety Network, which tracks fatal crashes. The last crash of this magnitude for Air India was Flight 182 in 1985. That Boeing 747 aircraft was destroyed by a bomb over the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 329 people on board.
Boeing has been involved in several accidents in recent years, including two fatal crashes with Lion Air Flight 610 on October 29, 2018, and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 on March 10, 2019. Early last year, a nearly-new 737 Max aircraft lost a door panel during flight. While there were no fatalities, the accident plunged the company into a deep crisis.
Under international rules for aviation crash investigations — known as 'Annex 13' — a probe is led by air safety authorities in the country where the crash occurred, with assistance from other countries. Investigators typically issue a preliminary report within a few weeks. A final report, which includes safety recommendations, is then released a year to two later.