Closing summary
Today’s live coverage of the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad is coming to an end. The crash killed more than 240 people and is the worst aviation disaster in terms of death toll in over a decade.
Here’s a round-up of updates from today:
India’s ministry of civil aviation said Air India has been ordered to carry out “additional maintenance actions” on its Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft equipped with GE Aerospace GEnx engines following the crash. There was speculation that India could ground 787 flights, but it has stopped short of doing that so far.
The sole surviving passenger from the Air India crash – a British man – said the lights on the plane “started flickering” before the aircraft hit the ground and that he saw people dying in front of his eyes before he walked out of the rubble. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, told the Hindustan Times: “When the flight took off, within five to 10 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.”
The crashed Air India plane’s flight data recorder, its black box – has been found, India’s Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu confirmed. Kinjarapu said the black box was discovered by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) after 28 hours of searching. “This marks an important step forward in the investigation,” he said.
The investigation into the Air India plane crash is focusing on the engine, flaps and landing gear, a source told Reuters. While one of the two black boxes on the plane has been found, there was no information on the cockpit voice recorder, the other black box, which will also be crucial to the crash probe.
A team of Boeing experts has flown out to offer assistance to the Indian state-led investigation into the crash, with officials from the UK and the US also expected to arrive in Ahmedabad. Chief executive Kelly Ortberg said that the Boeing team “stands ready to support the investigation led by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau” as work continues to ascertain the cause of the crash.
Pope Leo XIV paid condolences to the families and friends of the victims. A statement released by the Vatican on behalf of the Pope passed on his prayers for those affected by the tragedy. “His Holiness Pope Leo XIV sends his heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of those who have lost their lives, together with the assurance of prayers for all involved in the recovery efforts,” the Pope’s secretary of state said in a statement.
Air India’s owners Tata on Thursday said they would pay around £86,000 to the families of those killed in the crash: the strict liability compensation regardless of fault due under the Montreal Convention. However, lawyers who have represented families affected by previous air disasters, warned relatives of victims against immediately accepting compensation before the investigation.
Separately, an Air India flight from Phuket in Thailand to Delhi made an emergency landing due to a bomb threat. The flight had 156 passengers on board, and the plane landed safely and was being checked by security at Phuket International Airport.
Investigators from India, the UK and the US have arrived to probe the crash and Tata will be fully transparent about the findings, Tata Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said in an internal memo seen by Reuters.
Chandrasekaran said Tata wants to understand what happened, adding, “We don’t know right now”.
Aircraft engine maker GE Aerospace said it supports the action being taken by India’s aviation regulator for enhanced safety inspections of Air India’s 787 fleet.
“Safety is our top priority,” a GE Aerospace spokesperson said. “We are committed to providing all technical support necessary to understand the cause of this accident.”
