Aviation experts believe that the cause of Air India's AI171 flight crash near Ahmedabad airport (India) on the afternoon of June 12 may be due to a bird collision that prevented the plane from achieving optimal take-off speed.
Flight AI171, departed from Ahmedabad to Gatwick Airport ( London), took off at 1:48 p.m. (local time) and crashed just a few minutes after takeoff. There were a total of 242 people on board, including 230 passengers, 10 crew members and 2 pilots.
It is possible that this was a bird collision, causing both engines to lose thrust, Saurabh Bhatnagar, a former veteran pilot, told Indian TV channel.
The takeoff is going according to the procedure, but as soon as it is about to take off, the aircraft will start to lower the altitude - this will only happen if the engine loses power or the aircraft no longer creates lifting power, said Mr. Bhatnagar.
According to Air India, flight AI171 using a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which took off at 1:48 p.m. (local time), encountered a problem immediately after leaving the ground.
Among those on the flight were 169 Indian citizens, 53 UK citizens, 1 Canadian and 7 Portuguese.
Immediately after the accident, the injured were taken to the nearest hospitals for treatment.
India's health minister said "many people" were killed. As of 5:00 p.m. Vietnam time, at least 133 people have been confirmed dead.
Air India said it has set up a separate hotline for passenger relatives at 1800 5691 444 to provide information and emergency assistance. The airline also committed to closely coordinating with authorities during the investigation into the cause of the incident.
