Investigators have now recovered the cockpit voice recorder from last week’s devastating Air India crash and will analyse the pilots’ final words to help determine what caused the disaster that killed more than 270 people.
The flight data recorder from flight AI171 in Ahmedabad was found earlier, and a critical loss of power from both engines is increasingly being seen as the most probable cause of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner’s sudden descent.
The exact cause of the “extremely rare” dual engine power loss on the Gatwick-bound Dreamliner remains unknown.
Two more Air India flights were grounded or delayed in the past 24 hours as India’s civil aviation authority ordered urgent pre-flight checks on fuel systems, electronic engine controls, and other components across Boeing 787 aircraft in the country.
Families in India with concerns can call Air India on 1800 5691 444. Those outside India can call the British Foreign Office on 020 7008 5000.
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Key Points
- Investigators recover cockpit voice recorder from crashed Air India flight
- Most probable cause of the Air India plane crash revealed
- Video: Astonishing moment Air India survivor walks away from crash
- Pilot of Air India flight hailed as hero
- Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner turned back over technical issue – days after Ahmedabad disaster
Air India boss tells employees ‘we will figure out’ what caused crash
05:15
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Maroosha Muzaffar
Air India and Tata Group chairperson, N Chandrasekaran, told employees “we will figure out” what caused the crash during an address to 700 employees.
He also urged employees to remain strong and resilient following the deadly Ahmedabad plane crash, calling it the “most heartbreaking crisis” of his career.
“Criticisms are there, and those of us who are very passionate… who are working on making this airline a great airline, and who genuinely care about what kind of a company we want to build, but it’s not easy to face criticisms. I want you to be strong. If you feel distraught, the word you should remember is determination. We are going to get through this. We need to show resilience. We need to use this incident as an act of force to build a safer airline,” Mr Chandrasekaran said, according to The Indian Express.
“It’s a very complex business…it’s a complex machine, so a lot of redundancies, checks and balances, certifications, which have been perfected over years and years. Yet this happens, so we will figure out why it happens after the investigation. So we just have to stay calm and not put our shoulders down. This is the time to be brave, time to be resolute, time to know that you have the full support,” he told the employees.
Air India pilot’s last words moments before aircraft crashed to the ground revealed
05:00
,
Tom Watling
The final words of the pilot of Air India Flight AI171 that crashed on Thursday have been revealed, providing new details about the final moments before the aircraft went down.
Indian aviation officials have confirmed the pilot issued distress calls before the Gatwick-bound flight crashed in Gujarat state on 12 June, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground.
“Thrust not achieved... falling... Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!” the pilot said moments before the aircraft began losing height and erupted in a fireball.
New footage shows miracle moment British survivor of Air India crash emerges from flames of wreckage
04:30
,
Maroosha Muzaffar
This is the miraculous moment the sole survivor of the Air Indiacrash emerges from the flames of the Boeing wreckage.
Passengers deboard for safety after Mumbai-bound Air India plane faces technical issue
04:01
,
Maroosha Muzaffar
An Air India flight from San Francisco to Mumbai via Kolkata experienced a technical issue in its left engine after landing in Kolkata, forcing passengers to deboard for safety.
The delay lasted over four hours. Flight AI180 arrived at the Kolkata airport at 12.45am, when it faced a technical snag and passengers were asked to disembark.
This incident occurred just five days after a deadly Air India crash that killed 241 people onboard.
On Monday, another Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner returned to Hong Kong shortly after takeoff due to a “technical issue”.
The pilot decided to turn back Air India flight AI315 as a precaution, citing safety concerns.
The plane landed safely and underwent checks. The plane is seven years old, Reuters reported.
‘My grandson was burnt alive’: Grief engulfs neighbourhood where Air India crash killed dozens on the ground
04:00
,
Tom Watling
Grief hangs heavy in Meghani Nagar in Ahmedabad, as the wreckage of a London‑bound Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner lies smouldering in the compound of BJ Medical College.
The devastating crash – which took place around 2pm local time on Thursday – left emergency services scrambling amid thick plumes of smoke and debris, entire streets in shock and families shattered. All but one of the 242 people on board the flight were killed, but there were dozens more fatalities on the ground as the plane came down in a residential area.
Passengers deboard for safety after Mumbai-bound Air India plane faces technical issue
03:59
,
Maroosha Muzaffar
An Air India flight from San Francisco to Mumbai via Kolkata experienced a technical issue in its left engine after landing in Kolkata, forcing passengers to deboard for safety.
The delay lasted over four hours. Flight AI180 arrived at the Kolkata airport at 12.45am, when it faced a technical snag and passengers were asked to disembark.
This incident occurred just five days after a deadly Air India crash that killed 241 people onboard.
On Monday, another Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner returned to Hong Kong shortly after takeoff due to a “technical issue”.
The pilot decided to turn back Air India flight AI315 as a precaution, citing safety concerns.
The plane landed safely and underwent checks. The plane is seven years old, Reuters reported.
Families grieve as officials start handing remains of victims killed in Air India crash
03:00
,
Tom Watling
More than 72 hours after India’s deadliest aviation tragedy in recent memory, Rohit Patel – a father mourning the loss of his two children – stood trembling before a room of Indian health and investigative officials in Ahmedabad and demanded answers.
“When will the bodies be given?” he asked, breaking down in front of television cameras and senior officers. His son Harshit and daughter-in-law Pooja Patel were among the 242 passengers and crew aboard the Air India Express flight that crashed minutes after take-off on Thursday.
The questions behind the Air India plane crash: What caused it and what happens next?
02:00
,
Tom Watling
At least 270 people have been confirmed dead after an Air India flight bound for London crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad, India, on Thursday, in what is now the world’s deadliest air disaster in a decade.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner departed from Ahmedabad airport in the western state of Gujarat at 1.39pm local time (8.09am BST). But after issuing a mayday call, it crashed into a residential area called Meghani Nagar just five minutes after taking off, India’s civil aviation authority confirmed.
UK student missed doomed Air India flight by minutes: ‘It’s a miracle’
01:00
,
Tom Watling
A student has described the “miracle” of missing the Air India flight that crashed, killing 241 people on board.
Bhoomi Chauhan, 28, said she was angry and frustrated after a traffic jam on the way to the airport meant she missed boarding the flight by just ten minutes.
Ms Chauhan, a business administration student who lives in Bristol, said she was turned away by airport staff.
Seven killed after helicopter carrying Hindu pilgrims crashes in Indian Himalayan state
Tuesday 17 June 2025 00:00
,
Tom Watling
A helicopter crash at a Hindu pilgrimage site in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand killed seven people, including a child and the pilot, according to reports.
The helicopter carrying pilgrims from Kedarnath crashed near Rudraprayag’s Gaurikund early Sunday, the Indian Express reported, quoting officials. Officials said the dead included the pilot and pilgrims from the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh and western states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. The bodies were badly burned in a fire that followed the crash, they said.
‘Why me?’ Six extraordinary stories of sole plane crash survivors after British man walks away from India Air disaster
Monday 16 June 2025 23:00
,
Tom Watling
The sole survivor of the Air India plane crash that killed more than 240 people somehow walked from the wreckage of the aircraft after it crashed in the city of Ahmedabad.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh was in seat 11A near the emergency exit, and managed to escape through the broken hatch. He was filmed after Thursday’s disaster limping along the street in a bloodstained T-shirt with bruises on his face.
Air India crash likely to trigger India’s biggest aviation insurance payout
Monday 16 June 2025 22:00
,
Tom Watling
The deadly Air India crash could become the most expensive aviation insurance claim in India’s history, insurance experts say.
Investigators continue to probe what caused the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner to plummet into a crowded residential complex into crash in Ahmedabad just 33 seconds after take-off on Thursday.
‘Like an earthquake’: Inside the doctors’ hostel hit in Air India tragedy
Monday 16 June 2025 21:00
,
Tom Watling
Navin Chaudhary's lunch was interrupted by a deafening explosion. Turning, he saw flames engulfing the dining area where he and his fellow trainee doctors were eating.
As the fire advanced, Mr Chaudhary escaped through a window. From the ground, he saw the tail cone of an Air India plane jutting out of the burning building.
Driven by a sense of duty, Mr Chaudhary and his fellow medical students sprang into action.
Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flight forced to turn back with technical issue – days after Ahmedabad disaster
Monday 16 June 2025 20:00
,
Tom Watling
A Delhi-bound Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flight was forced to turn back to Hong Kong on Monday after the pilot reported technical issues mid-air.
The Air India flight AI 315 departed from the Asian city at 11.59 am local time for its scheduled destination in New Delhi. It reached an altitude of 22,000 feet, and then started descending, according to the flight tracking website AirNav Radar. The plane was 7 years old. Officials said the aircraft landed safely back in Hong Kong around 3.20 pm local time.
India urgently inspecting all Boeing 787s after deadly Air India crash kills at least 270 people
Monday 16 June 2025 19:00
,
Tom Watling
India is urgently inspecting all Boeing 787s after a devastating Air India crash that claimed at least 270 lives this week, the aviation minister said on Saturday, adding that the authorities were investigating all possible causes.
The aviation regulator on Friday ordered Air India to conduct additional maintenance checks on its Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft equipped with GEnx engines, including assessments of certain take-off parameters, electronic engine control tests and engine fuel-related checks.
Air India pilot’s last words moments before aircraft crashed to the ground revealed
Monday 16 June 2025 18:00
,
Tom Watling
The final words of the pilot of Air India Flight AI171 that crashed on Thursday have been revealed, providing new details about the final moments before the aircraft went down.
Indian aviation officials have confirmed the pilot issued distress calls before the Gatwick-bound flight crashed in Gujarat state on 12 June, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground.
“Thrust not achieved... falling... Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!” the pilot said moments before the aircraft began losing height and erupted in a fireball.
The questions behind the Air India plane crash: What caused it and what happens next?
Monday 16 June 2025 17:00
,
Tom Watling
At least 270 people have been confirmed dead after an Air India flight bound for London crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad, India, on Thursday, in what is now the world’s deadliest air disaster in a decade.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner departed from Ahmedabad airport in the western state of Gujarat at 1.39pm local time (8.09am BST). But after issuing a mayday call, it crashed into a residential area called Meghani Nagar just five minutes after taking off, India’s civil aviation authority confirmed.
Hospital officials told Reuters news agency that at least 270 bodies have been recovered from the wreckage, including passengers, crew, and residents of the medical college hostel struck by the aircraft.
Mapped: Final flight path of doomed Air India plane before it crashed with 242 people on board
Monday 16 June 2025 16:31
,
Tom Watling
A plane disaster in India that has killed at least 240 people unfolded within a matter of minutes.
The Boeing 787-8 aircraft took off from Ahmedabad airport in western India at 1.38pm local time (8.08am BST) on Thursday, FlightRadar shows.
The Air India flight was destined for London Gatwick and had been due to arrive by 6.25pm London time.
He flew home to bury his father. The Air India crash took his life
Monday 16 June 2025 16:00
,
Tom Watling
Inside a modest two-bedroom apartment in India’s Ahmedabad, Ravina Daniel Christian clutches the edge of her tear-soaked scarf. The home is crowded with relatives but the only voice that carries through the room is hers – spilling with loss.
Just 15 days ago, she buried her husband. On 12 June, her 30-year-old son Lawrence Daniel Christian, who had come home from London to perform the last rites of his father, was killed in the catastrophic Air India crash that has claimed at least 270 lives.
Air India chairman says crash should drive effort to build safer airline
Monday 16 June 2025 15:28
,
Tom Watling
Air India's Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran on Monday told staff that last week's plane crash that killed at least 271 people should be a catalyst to build a safer airline, urging employees to stay resolute amid any criticism.
In a town hall held at the headquarters of the Tata Group-owned airline near New Delhi and attended by 700 staff, Chandrasekaran said the crash was the "most heartbreaking" crisis of his career, a spokesperson told Reuters.
“I've seen a reasonable number of crises in my career, but this is the most heartbreaking one,” he said, according to a Tata Group spokesperson.
“We need to use this incident as an act of force to build a safer airline,” Chandrasekaran told the meeting.
‘It’s all very raw’: Twenty victims of the Air India plane crash connected to the same London temple
Monday 16 June 2025 15:00
Hundreds, if not thousands, of people have been left in mourning after the Air India plane disaster claimed more than 240 lives on Thursday.
But one north-west London community, some 4,000 miles away from the Ahmedabad crash site, is feeling the impact more than most.
Twenty of the victims have connections to the same temple in Harrow, its leader has said, with multiple families now trying to come to terms with what has happened. Among those killed in the Dreamliner disaster are a mother and father who lost their son, a pilot, in a plane crash in France just a few years ago.
‘Like an earthquake’: Inside the doctors’ hostel hit in Air India tragedy
Monday 16 June 2025 14:28
,
Tom Watling
Navin Chaudhary's lunch was interrupted by a deafening explosion. Turning, he saw flames engulfing the dining area where he and his fellow trainee doctors were eating.
As the fire advanced, Mr Chaudhary escaped through a window. From the ground, he saw the tail cone of an Air India plane jutting out of the burning building.
Driven by a sense of duty, Mr Chaudhary and his fellow medical students sprang into action.
UK student missed doomed Air India flight by minutes: ‘It’s a miracle’
Monday 16 June 2025 14:00
,
Tom Watling
A student has described the “miracle” of missing the Air India flight that crashed, killing 241 people on board.
Bhoomi Chauhan, 28, said she was angry and frustrated after a traffic jam on the way to the airport meant she missed boarding the flight by just ten minutes.
Ms Chauhan, a business administration student who lives in Bristol, said she was turned away by airport staff.
Brit avoids Air India disaster after changing flight plans
Monday 16 June 2025 13:31
,
Tom Watling
A 31-year-old Briton who had originally planned to take the Air India flight that crashed last week has spoken of his “shock” and “gratitude” for delaying his journey home.
Owen Jackson, from Saffron Walden in Essex, had been in India on a work trip and was due to fly back on last Thursday’s flight, before his work asked him to stay until Saturday instead.
He had been due to fly on seat 11A, the same seat in which the only survivor of the crash, Brit Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, had been sitting.
Mr Jackson told The Sun: “It’s a shock. I’m more grateful than anything else - it is such a weird coincidence.
“You hear it every now and again about planes going down and you don’t really think much of it, but when it’s the actual aircraft you’re potentially getting on two days later, it does make you think.
“My main emotion on the whole thing is I’m quite grateful for the fact that I made that decision when I did.”
‘My grandson was burnt alive’: Grief engulfs neighbourhood where Air India crash killed dozens on the ground
Monday 16 June 2025 13:00
,
Tom Watling
Grief hangs heavy in Meghani Nagar in Ahmedabad, as the wreckage of a London‑bound Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner lies smouldering in the compound of BJ Medical College.
The devastating crash – which took place around 2pm local time on Thursday – left emergency services scrambling amid thick plumes of smoke and debris, entire streets in shock and families shattered. All but one of the 242 people on board the flight were killed, but there were dozens more fatalities on the ground as the plane came down in a residential area.
Who were the Brits on board the Air India flight?
Monday 16 June 2025 12:31
,
Tom Watling
There were 53 Britons aboard the Air India flight heading to Gatwick last Thursday when it crashed.
The only survivor, out of 242 passengers and crew, was a British man, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh.
Among those Britons confirmed dead are businessman Akeel Nanabawa, his wife, Hannaa Vorajee, and their four-year-old daughter Sara, according to the Gloucester Muslim community.
Fiongal and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek, who ran the Wellness Foundry in south London and Ramsgate, were also killed.
Adam Taju, 72, and his wife, Hasina, 70, were also on board, along with their son-in-law, Altafhusen Patel, 51, who lived in London with his wife.
Javed Ali Syed, a hotel manager at the Best Western Kensington Olympia Hotel, and his wife, Mariam, were also reportedly among the victims.
Four dead after dozens swept away in bridge collapse in India
Monday 16 June 2025 12:05
,
Tom Watling
At least four people died after a bridge on a river collapsed in a popular tourist destination in India's western city of Pune.
The 33-year-old iron bridge over the Indrayani river collapsed on Sunday afternoon around 3.30pm (local time) when about 125 tourists had gathered.
More than 50 people, who sustained injuries after being swept away in the river, were rescued and rushed to the hospital for treatment.
Astonishing footage appears to show the moment Air India survivor walks away from crash
Monday 16 June 2025 11:36
,
Tom Watling
Astonishing footage has appeared to show the moment the sole survivor of the Air India crash walks away from the burning wreckage.
The video, published by The Sun, shows the plane engulfed in a huge fireball and several nearby civilians watching as the scene unfolds.
The sole survivor, Brit Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, then appears on the phone, walking away from the wreckage.
Mr Ramesh was taken to the hospital but miraculously only suffered minor injuries.
Pilot of Air India flight hailed as hero
Monday 16 June 2025 11:26
,
Tom Watling
The pilot of the fatal Air India flight has been hailed a hero for navigating the plane onto a patch of grass in the seconds before it crashed in Ahmedabad, narrowly avoiding a three-storey apartment block.
Captain Sabharwal, 55, the son of an officer with India’s civil aviation authority, was an experienced aviator with 8,200 hours of flying time.
Residents of an apartment block that narrowly missed being hit by the Air India plane have praised the late captain for saving their lives.
Geeta Patni, 48, who was one of the closest residents to the crash site, told The Sun: “The building was shaking. We were so scared. There was chaos in the street and fire and smoke.
“Any closer and we would have died. The pilot saved us.”
Another resident, Jahanvi Rajput, 28, said: “Thanks to the pilot Captain Sabharwal, we survived. He’s a hero. It is because of him we are alive.”
Chancal Bai, 50, said: “If the plane had crashed into this residential area, there would have been hundreds more victims.”
Air India crash sole survivor recalls how he escaped plane
Monday 16 June 2025 11:13
,
Tom Watling
Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flight forced to turn back with technical issue – days after Ahmedabad disaster
Monday 16 June 2025 11:02
,
Tom Watling
A Delhi-bound Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flight was forced to turn back to Hong Kong on Monday after the pilot reported technical issues mid-air.
The Air India flight AI 315 departed from the Asian city at 11.59 am local time for its scheduled destination in New Delhi. It reached an altitude of 22,000 feet, and then started descending, according to the flight tracking website AirNav Radar. The plane was 7 years old. Officials said the aircraft landed safely back in Hong Kong around 3.20 pm local time.
AI315 “returned to Hong Kong shortly after take-off due to a technical issue. The flight landed safely ... and is undergoing checks as a matter of abundant precaution,” Air India said in a statement.
