In that year, an Air India flight crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, killing at least 270 people. The Boeing 787, which was 12 years old, struck a medical college hostel in a residential area just minutes into its flight. The crash killed 241 people on board. Tragically, at least 29 people on the ground have been confirmed dead, turning this airplane accident into one of the deadliest aviation disasters in recent memory.
What started as typical, routine flight operations soon and tragically turned into a catastrophic failure. Eyewitnesses described hearing a large bang followed by sparks showing that this was a speedy descent. Of the passengers, only one person survived the crash and is currently being monitored for injuries received in the accident. In the days since the shooting, medical staff have indicated the single shooting survivor is recovering well and is expected to be discharged soon.
“He is doing very well and will be ready to be discharged anytime soon,” – Dr. Dhaval Gameti
As search and rescue teams began to comb through the wreckage, they made a horrifying discovery—the bodies of 1,000 victims were scattered across the floodplain. The Indian government has announced a high-level committee to determine the causes of the crash. Families of those who lost their lives are clamoring for accountability.
To help their grieving relatives, officials have rushed DNA matching processes. Hundreds of family members have been willingness to step forward to provide DNA samples to help identify their loved ones. This important process typically takes no more than 72 hours. This fast-tracked special effort is intended to provide some measure of justice and closure to victims of this horrific incident.
While there is still much to be done, investigators have begun recovering important evidence. They’ve found the plane’s electronic flight data recorder, or black box. Rescuers found this important piece of equipment on a house a block away from the crash site. It is to be hoped that it will shed crucial light on the engine and control configurations in the run up to the catastrophe. Conversations will be recorded, and a voice recorder will be used to capture conversations in the cockpit. This important detail could help inform the order of operations throughout the flight.
Even as investigations go forward, families are forced to deal with their preventable loss. Rafiq Abdullah, a father searching for his children among the wreckage, expressed his anguish with a heart-wrenching plea:
“Where are my children? Did you recover them?” – Rafiq Abdullah
While we cannot know all of the circumstances leading to this crash, its occurrence begs serious questions about aviation safety and regulatory oversight in India. To many, it was a wake-up call about the fragility of life and unpredictability in air travel. Meanwhile, authorities are undertaking a full investigation to determine exactly what went awry. Their goal, like all of us, is to not have a tragedy like this ever happen again.
