A tragic incident hit the nation, especially Gujarat, on Thursday when an Air India passenger aircraft crashed a few minutes after takeoff. The craft plummeted in the heavily populated Meghani Nagar locality of Ahmedabad just minutes after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The plane had 242 on board, comprising passengers and crew.
A few hours after this tragedy, a series of tweets by a Jalandhar industrialist, Deepak Chawla, warned about the bad condition of the aircraft.
He took his Twitter account, now known as X, to share the condition of the aircraft and mentioned, “@airindia Sir this is to bring into your notice that AIR INDIA Flight operated from Gatwick (London) to Amritsar (Punjab) is in a very bad position!! Very old aircraft, this damages the image of India in the UK!!Possibility of some mishappening!! Please look into it!! Rgds Deepak.”
@airindia Sir this is to bring into your notice that AIR INDIA Flight operated from Gatwick (London) to Amritsar (Punjab) is in very bad position!! Very old aircraft, this damage the image of India in UK!!Possibility to happen some mishappening !! Please look into!! Rgds Deepak
— Deepak Chawla (@jagiru) June 18, 2024
Not only Air India, he also tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India, officials of Tata Group, Office of the Prime Minister of India (PMO India), Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Government of India - Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu.
It is to be highlighted that the series of tweets was posted on June 18, 2024 - precisely a year before this heart-wrenching incident took place.
Let us inform you that this tweet by Deepak Chawla was acknowledged by the staff and authorities of Air India, who highlighted that corrective actions and appropriate steps would be taken to safeguard the passengers.
The reply by the authorities mentioned, “Dear Mr. Chawla, this is not something good to hear, and we appreciate you reaching out to us. We're sharing your feedback regarding inflight services with our team to take corrective action. This will surely be looked into for further service.”
Dear Mr. Chawla, this is not something good to hear and we appreciate you reaching out to us. We're sharing your feedback regarding inflight services with our team to take corrective action. This will surely be looked into for further service enhancement.
— Air India (@airindia) June 18, 2024
What happened
Eyewitnesses described the plane descending just outside the airport perimeter, with huge clouds of smoke pouring out of the wreckage. The crash site was in a residential area, sparking worries of casualties both on board and on the ground. Footage from the scene indicates emergency responders and fire trucks mobilizing to the scene, which has been sealed off entirely by the authorities to allow for rescue and relief operations.
Immediate response
Rescue forces, such as emergency medical services and fire brigade, are busy putting out the fire and trying to find survivors. Local police and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) are at the location, and a formal probe into the reason for the crash has been initiated. The make and model of the plane are yet to be confirmed.
Casualties and survivor
Among the 242 people aboard the ill-fated Air India flight AI171, which tragically crashed shortly after takeoff near Ahmedabad airport on Thursday afternoon, 38-year-old British national Ramesh Vishwas Kumar Bucharwada miraculously survived.
Bucharvada was seated in 11A, a window seat located right behind an emergency exit on the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London Gatwick.