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Breaking News Today, on a humid afternoon in June, what should have been a routine flight turned into one of the darkest days in the history of Indian aviation. Air India Flight AI-171, en route from Ahmedabad to Delhi, crashed just 33 seconds after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The aircraft crashed into the BJ Medical College hostel complex in a horrifically short time, killing and destroying 260 people. The aircraft involved in the accident was a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, one of the world’s most advanced commercial aircraft.
There were 229 passengers and 12 crew members on board the aircraft. Tragically, 260 people lost their lives — including passengers, crew and about 30 students and medical staff on the ground. The accident is one of the worst air accidents in recent Indian memory. Technically, the aircraft had passed normal pre-flight checks and was considered fully operational. A man named Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, who was apparently rescued from the brink of death by accident, managed to survive the ordeal unscathed. His story is a miracle, though.
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The Final 33 Seconds
Flightradar24 data indicates that Air India AI171 had just taken off when it started showing signs of instability. ATC later confirmed that a Mayday signal was sent just before radar contact was lost. Experts say the 33-second delay between takeoff and impact indicates either a catastrophic engine failure or a complete loss of control. “It wasn’t a gradual descent – it was instantaneous,” says retired pilot and aviation safety expert Captain Pritam Sengupta. “Whatever happened happened at low altitude, there was no room for recovery.”
The CVR (cockpit voice recorder) and FDR (flight data recorder), both recovered within 24 hours, are currently being analysed by the Air Accidents Investigation Bureau (AAIB). According to the report, the final moments of the audio, which is said to be full of pilot instructions and cockpit warnings, could be crucial in determining exactly what happened in those 33 chaotic seconds. There was no time for the crew to make an emergency landing or return to the airport.
The Sole Miracle Survivor
Amidst this unimaginable loss, one name keeps popping up—Vishvas Kumar Ramesh, a 28-year-old marketing executive, sitting in row 11A, just above the left wing emergency exit. He walked away from the crash site burned and broken but alive—conscious and talking. How did he survive when everyone else died? Even medical professionals and rescue workers can’t fully answer this question. His seat location—11A—is right above the plane’s structurally strong zone, which could have played a role in absorbing the impact energy.
He was immediately airlifted to Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, where he is stable and under close observation in the intensive care unit. After regaining consciousness for a moment, Vishwas asks, “What happened to the plane?” A shocked and injured man wakes up to realize that he has survived something no one else has, something that has been etched in the hearts of a grieving nation. Now he is being hailed as a symbol of survival, a beacon of hope amidst the storm of grief.
Death Toll & Ground Casualties
The crash site – the BJ Medical College boys’ hostel – was home to around 120 medical students, interns and staff. There were 28 students in the building at the time of the crash, many of whom were studying in their rooms for exams. Emergency services confirmed that a total of 260 people had died, including 229 passengers, 12 crew members, 11 medical students, three hospital staff and five hostel staff, along with 19 people on the ground. One of the dead was Dr. Ajay Deshmukh, a renowned pathologist and former chief medical officer of Gujarat. His death shocked the state’s medical community.
The human toll is almost incalculable. Along with the search for knowledge, rest and daily routine on the ground, there were also fatalities in the air. This was not just a plane crash, it was a blow to an entire community.
Immediate Emergency Response
The moment the plane hit the hostel, a huge fireball erupted, visible for several kilometres across Ahmedabad. Yet, within 10 minutes, NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) teams arrived at the scene, along with firefighters from the nearby airbase, CISF and IAF emergency squads. Rescue workers battled both the fire and the falling debris while searching for survivors in the rubble. Medical students from a nearby hospital immediately became emergency responders, performing CPR and treating the injured while also mourning their colleagues.
Prime Minister Modi, who was on a scheduled visit to Ahmedabad, cancelled the rest of his schedule and reached the crash site within 90 minutes. Shortly after, Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited there along with top officials of Air India, DGCA and AAIB. A temporary command centre was set up to coordinate rescue, identification and hospital response. The Indian Air Force provided aerial drones and thermal scanners to identify survivors in the rubble. So far, the rescue and body recovery operations have officially ended, but the mental and emotional recovery will take much longer.
Investigation—What Could Have Gone Wrong
What caused the crash? Initial speculation includes both engine failures, bird strikes, faulty flaps, and even fuel contamination. With international assistance from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the UK Air Accidents Investigation Bureau (AAIB), each of these possibilities is being thoroughly investigated. The most dire scenario is that both engines failed shortly after takeoff. Witnesses claimed to have heard “two loud bangs” followed by silence. Bird’s Eye Ahmedabad airport is located in a known area where birds migrate. “Bird feeding” incidents, which can be devastating during climbs, can occur if a flock of birds enters one or both engines during takeoff.
Aircraft History & Boeing 787 Safety Context
A Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, tail number VT-ANN, which was manufactured in 2020. It had flown for more than 9,800 hours and was regularly maintained in accordance with Air India and DGCA standards at the time of the accident. It is powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines. Until this incident, it had a near-perfect safety record. Boeing has faced several problems in recent years. The Boeing 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 (Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines) have severely damaged the company’s reputation. Following this new incident, Boeing’s share price fell by 3.4% in 24 hours and the company has already issued a statement of condolences and cooperation.
To assist the AAIB’s investigation, Boeing has sent a team of engineers and safety inspectors to India. In addition, engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce has promised full transparency. If the Dreamliner, the pinnacle of commercial aircraft technology, can crash in 33 seconds, what does that say about modern aviation?
THE END
While there are no definitive answers to the Ahmedabad plane crash, one thing is clear: aviation safety needs to change. The goal is to stop history repeating itself as the world mourns.
