An Air India flight carrying 242 people crashed into a building just after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport, leaving only one survivor in what The New York Times described as nothing short of a miracle. Viswash Kumar Ramesh, a 38-year-old British citizen sitting in seat 11A, walked away from the burning wreckage with minor injuries while 241 passengers and crew members died in the disaster. The plane burst into flames upon impact, with officials stating that the heat and smoke made escape nearly impossible for others aboard the aircraft. Officials reported that Ramesh was seated in an exit row when the Boeing 787-8 fell just seconds after takeoff and seemed to struggle before crashing into a medical college dining facility.
According to The New York Times report, the front section of the aircraft hit buildings before crashing in an open area, while the tail remained lodged in the building structure. Ramesh managed to unbuckle his seatbelt after the crash when he noticed space to escape through what appeared to be a broken door, though he could not clearly explain whether he opened the emergency exit or if the impact caused it to open. His brother Ajay, who was also on the flight but seated on the opposite side in seat 11J, did not survive the tragic accident.
Aviation experts examining the crash have identified several possible scenarios that could explain why the Dreamliner failed to gain proper altitude after takeoff. NDTV's analysis suggests the most likely cause involved a single engine failure or bird strike that dramatically increased the workload for the two pilots in the cockpit. The crew may have focused so intensely on troubleshooting the engine problem that they forgot to retract the landing gear, which is standard procedure after takeoff to reduce drag and improve climbing performance. This oversight could have caused the aircraft to slow below the minimum speed needed to maintain control with only one engine working, leading to a dangerous stall at approximately 400 feet, where recovery becomes nearly impossible.
NDTV also considered a second scenario involving an extremely rare dual-engine failure that would have turned the massive passenger plane into a powerless glider. Without any engine thrust, the crew would have been unable to retract the landing gear, creating excessive drag that caused rapid airspeed loss and an inevitable stall at such a critically low altitude with no time for emergency procedures.
Traffic congestion in Ahmedabad city saved one passenger's life when she arrived at the airport just ten minutes too late to board the doomed flight. Bhoomi Chauhan, a 28-year-old business student living in Bristol, had been visiting western India for a holiday and was scheduled to return home on Flight 171 to London Gatwick. The BBC reported that Chauhan reached the airport at 12:20 p.m., exactly ten minutes after boarding was supposed to begin, but airline staff refused to let her complete the boarding process despite her online check-in for seat 36G. She had traveled 201 kilometers from Ankleshwar, BBC said, and became stuck in heavy traffic while crossing Ahmedabad's city center, causing the crucial delay that ultimately saved her life.
According to the BBC's coverage, Chauhan initially felt angry and frustrated with her driver and the airport staff's refusal to accommodate her late arrival. She was standing outside the airport, discussing ticket refund options with her travel agent, when she received the shocking phone call informing her that her flight had crashed. The aircraft had taken off on schedule but struggled to gain altitude before crashing approximately thirty seconds into the flight, killing 241 passengers, 12 crew members, and at least eight more on the ground.
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