Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], June 14 : Days after the tragic crash of the Air India flight 171, Secretary of Ministry of Civil Aviation, Samir Kumar Sinha on Saturday giving details stated that after Air Traffic Control (ATC) had tried contacting the plane, it had not received any response, minutes after which the plane crashed in Medhaninagar.
"At 1:39 pm, the pilot informed Ahmedabad ATC that it was a May Day, i.e., full emergency. According to ATC, when it tried to contact the plane, it did not receive any response. Exactly after 1 minute, this plane crashed in Medhaninagar, which is located at a distance of about 2 km from the airport. The captain of the plane was Sumit Sabharwal, and the first officer was Clive Sundar," Sinha said, addressing the media.
He further stated that the plane had started losing its height after reaching a height of 650 feet.
"The AIC 171 plane carrying a total of 242 passengers on board, including 230 passengers, 2 pilots, and 10 crew members, had taken off at 1:39 p.m. and within a few seconds, after it reached a height of 650 feet, it had started sinking, i.e. losing height..." he added.
The Secretary further added that the plane had no history of crashes and had completed the Paris-Delhi-Ahmedabad sector previously without any accident.
"As far as the entire history of the plane is concerned, before this accident, the plane had completed the Paris-Delhi-Ahmedabad sector without any accident. Due to the accident, the runway was closed at 2:30 pm, and after completing all the protocols, the runway of Ahmedabad was opened for limited flights from 5 PM," he stated.
Meanwhile, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu stated that the recovery of the aircraft's Black box from the debris was critical to the investigative process.
"The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, which was formed specifically to look into the incidents, accidents that happen around aircraft, was immediately mobilised. One important update from the technical investigation which is happening through the AAIB is the recovery of the black box yesterday around 5 pm from the site, the AAIB team believes that this decoding of the black box is going to give an in depth insight into what would have happened during the process of the crash or moments before the crash itself. We are also eagerly waiting for what the results or the report are going to be once the AAIB goes through its full investigation..." Naidu said while addressing a press briefing.
He also stated that the crash had shaken the entire nation.
"The last two days have been very difficult, especially for the ministry and everyone else. The incident that happened in Ahmedabad has shaken the entire nation. My deepest condolences to the family members who have lost their loved ones in the incident. I have also personally lost my father to a road accident, so to a certain extent, I can understand the pain and anguish the family members are feeling," he further added.