Air India plane crash: Air India makes shocking announcement, experts step in to explain the reason?

NDTV (India) on the evening of June 13, the parent company of Air India Tata Group announced on June 13 that it will compensate 10 million rupees (about 120,000 USD) to each family whose loved one died in the plane crash in Ahmedabad.

This information was shared by Air India CEO and General Manager Campbell Wilson via the airline's official account on the X platform. Mr. Campbell said that the entire Air India team was saddened by the tragedy and sent his deepest condolences to the families of those who died in the plane crash, and also confirmed that the airline had deployed 100 customer care staff and 40 technicians to Ahmedabad to support logistics and coordination.

In an interview with NDTV that evening, veteran captain Rakesh Rai - who once flew another Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner - said the biggest unusual sign was that the AI 171 plane did not retract its landing gear after takeoff.

Mr. Rai analyzed that images from airport cameras showed that the initial takeoff phase went normally, but at an altitude of 400 - 500 feet, the plane began to lose altitude.

Accordingly, the landing gear not being retracted will significantly increase drag, directly affecting the ability to gain altitude - a factor that Mr. Rai said could cause "most of the problems".

Mr. Rai also gave the least likely scenario that there was an error in the cockpit, such as the co-pilot accidentally retracting the flaps instead of the landing gear, causing the plane to lose lift, or that an engine failure caused the crew to lose control in the first few seconds.

At 320km/h and with a processing time of less than 25 seconds, Mr. Rai said the flight crew had almost no time to react, despite having undergone emergency training in a realistic simulator. However, the captain affirmed that the exact cause can only be determined after the black box is decoded.

Meanwhile, at BJ Medical College Hospital in Ahmedabad, dozens of relatives of the deceased waited outside the hospital for hours to identify their loved ones.

According to a report by Reuters on June 13, forensic doctor Jaishankar Pillai said that the local medical team worked continuously in the autopsy room until 4:30 a.m. on June 13 to collect dental samples of the burned deceased.

According to Mr. Pillai, the team has recorded dental records of 135 deceased people as of June 13. However, he declined to announce the number of deceased people who have been identified.

As of June 13, at least seven people had been handed over to their relatives after completing the file verification process, but not all cases went smoothly.

The accident occurred on June 12, when a Boeing 787 Dreamliner carrying 242 passengers from Ahmedabad International Airport to London crashed just 30 seconds after takeoff. The cause of the incident is currently unknown, while India's civil aviation minister said an official investigation has been launched.

A woman who missed the flight has recounted the haunting moment. Bhoomi Chauhan missed Air India flight AI-171 from Ahmedabad (India) to London (UK) because she was 10 minutes late. According to Hindustan Times, Bhoomi Chauhan planned to fly back to London (UK) alone on an Air India flight. She had just returned to India after 2 years of living with her husband in London.

Hearing that the plane that was supposed to carry her suddenly crashed shortly after takeoff, Bhoomi Chauhan trembled and was shocked. Bhoomi Chauhan said that she did not expect that the delay in the flight had caused her to narrowly escape the horrific plane crash. "Just because of the 10-minute delay, I could not get on the plane. I do not know how to describe this, I am grateful to God," she confided.

Besides, Bhoomi Chauhan's mood was also heavily affected by the news of the number of people who passed away forever in the plane crash.

"I was completely devastated when I heard about the people who had passed away. My body was shaking. I couldn't speak. My mind was completely blank after hearing what happened," she said.

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