A devastating tragedy unfolded in Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon when Air India Flight AI-171 crashed shortly after takeoff, leaving the nation in shock and sorrow. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, carrying 242 passengers and crew members, was en route to London Gatwick when it suddenly encountered trouble just seconds into its flight.
Commanding the aircraft was Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who issued an urgent Mayday call — the most severe emergency signal in aviation — moments before all contact with Air Traffic Control (ATC) was lost.
The distress call, which is internationally recognized and must be repeated three times for clarity — “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday” — marked the pilot’s final communication before the plane vanished from radar.
Despite repeated efforts from ATC to reconnect, there was no further response from the cockpit, as confirmed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). At approximately 1:39 p.m. IST, the aircraft crashed into the Meghaninagar neighborhood, a residential area just outside the airport’s perimeter.https://twitter.com/i/status/1933089620360835331
