Subtle detail in sole survivor's recollection of Air India crash could indicate what went wrong with plane
The sole survivor of the Air India plane crash may have revealed a key clue into what went wrong when he explained what happened moments before the crash which killed more than 200 people.
On June 12, a 40-year-old British man survived the wreckage of an Air India flight that killed all other 241 passengers and crew, an more people on the ground.
The AI171 jet departed from Ahmedabad and was heading for London Gatwick when it crashed less than a minute after takeoff into a medical hostel building.
The Boeing 787-8 was carrying 242 passengers and crew members which included 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, one Canadian national, and seven Portuguese nationals.
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Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, was sat in seat 11a on the plane and is the only person to have walked away from the doomed flight.
His account of the events could provide the key to figuring out what went wrong with the plane that pilots desperately attempted to save.
Speaking to the Hindustan Times and Indian state media DD News from a hospital bed in Asarwa, Ahmedabad, Ramesh said: “Thirty seconds after takeoff there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly.
“When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital.”
He added that he managed to free himself after unbuckling himself from his seat and using his ‘leg to push through that opening’ before he ‘crawled out’.
But it’s what he saw just before the plane hit the hostel that could be a huge clue as to what was causing the crash.
He said: "When the flight took off, within five to 10 seconds it felt like it was stuck in the air.
"Suddenly, the lights started flickering - green and white.
"The aircraft wasn't gaining altitude and was just gliding before it suddenly slammed into a building and exploded."
The flickering lights is something that is similar to what happened just hours earlier on the very same jet.
A passenger took the plane the day before the crash, and claimed electrical parts were not working.
Aviation experts believe that electrical failings could signify power failure, possibly explaining the crash.
At the moment, there are many theories at play as to what happened that day.
Whether it was engine thrust, flaps and landing gear, a bird strike or a pilot error, a lot of people have weighed in.
While people speculate, Vishwash is the only person who can provide much-needed details.
He said: "I saw people dying in front of my eyes – the air hostesses, and two people I saw near me [...] I walked out of the rubble."
He said: “I think the side I was on was not facing the hostel. I don’t know about others."
Vishwash's seat was 11A, next to the emergency door, which is understood to have blown off when the plane hit the building.
Recalling the moment he realised he was alive, he said: "At first, I thought I was dead. Later, I realised I was still alive and saw an opening in the fuselage.”
Britt Jones