On June 12th, an Air India flight, numbered AI171 and bound for London, crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport in India. Among the 242 people on board, only one person survived, providing a firsthand account of the accident that may help clarify the cause of the crash.
According to a report from the UK’s “Daily Star,” a British citizen named Vishwash Kumar Ramesh was sitting in seat 11A near an emergency exit on the ill-fated flight. After the accident, he managed to unbuckle his seatbelt and escape from the aircraft wreckage.
Ramesh recounted, “Within 5 to 10 seconds after takeoff, it felt like we were stuck in the air. Suddenly, the green and white lights began to flicker… and then the plane abruptly crashed into a building and exploded.”
The flickering lights possibly indicated electrical issues with the aircraft.
Previously, a man who claimed to have been on the same flight two hours before the crash from Delhi to Ahmedabad mentioned abnormalities inside the cabin, including malfunctioning of “everything” including the air conditioning.
Ramesh continued, “I can’t believe how I survived. There was a moment where I thought I was going to die. But when I opened my eyes and looked around, I realized I was still alive. I still can’t believe how I made it out.”
Describing his escape, he said, “I saw an opening in the fuselage. I managed to unbuckle my seatbelt, pushed open the opening with my legs, and crawled out.”
“I don’t know how I survived. I saw people die – the flight attendants and two people next to me… I walked out from the debris,” he said.
“Hindustan Times” reported that Ramesh, who resides in the UK, was visiting India to see his family for a few days. He and his brother were returning to the UK on the same flight, but they are now separated forever.
On his hospital bed, Ramesh told the newspaper, “30 seconds after takeoff, there was a loud noise, and then the plane crashed. Everything happened too fast.”
“When I stood up, there were bodies all around. I was horrified. I stood up and ran. There were aircraft fragments all around me. Someone grabbed me, lifted me onto an ambulance, and took me to the hospital.”
In addition to the 241 people who perished on board, several dozen individuals on the ground lost their lives in this tragic accident while going about their daily activities, including the son of a tea stall owner near the crash site who was sleeping under a tree and lost his life due to this unexpected disaster.
India’s Minister of Civil Aviation, Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, announced on social media platform X that the black box of the crashed plane was retrieved from the wreckage within 28 hours, potentially containing critical information to understand the cause of the crash.
Aviation experts are currently analyzing the data from the black box. One of the theories they have proposed is that the aircraft may have experienced electrical failure. Other possible reasons include dual engine failure (possibly due to bird strike).