Investigators have recovered the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) from the Air India flight that crashed shortly after takeoff outside Ahmedabad airport last week.
All but one passenger died after the London-bound Boeing 787 aircraft crashed into the campus of a medical college in Ahmedabad city on Thursday afternoon. Only one passenger among the 242 aboard survived.
At least 29 others on the ground, including five medical students inside the hostel, were also killed.
The CVR, which captures audio from the cockpit, including pilot conversations along with the flight data recorder, will be key to determine the possible cause of one of the worst aviation disasters in decades. The flight data recorder was recovered from the crash site over the weekend.
The Air India flight began losing height moments after take-off and erupted in a huge fireball after hitting the accommodation block of a medical college.
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who was flying the aircraft, has been hailed as a "hero" by locals for allegedly diverting the AI171 flight to swerve a block of flats.
Jahanvi Rajput, 28, told The Sun that "thanks to the pilot Captain Sabharwal, we survived. He’s a hero. It is because of him we are alive.”
"The green space next to us was visible to him and that’s where he went," she said. The flight crashed on the top floor of the accommodation block, where medical students had assembled to eat lunch.
On Monday, the crash site teemed with excavators and workers clearing the debris. Officials inspected the building in search of clues that could enable the investigators to figure out what led to the tragedy.
A loss of engine power is increasingly being seen as the most probable cause of the crash, with video footage and preliminary findings suggesting that the aircraft failed to gain altitude, climbing only about 450 feet before crashing, possibly due to reduced thrust from both General Electric GEnx engines, The Times reported.
The exact cause behind the “extremely rare” dual engine power loss remains unknown, but on Sunday, India’s civil aviation authority (DGCA) launched urgent pre-flight inspections of fuel systems, electronic engine controls, and other components on Boeing 787 aircraft operated in the country.
Local authorities have so far handed over the remains of 64 victims. The bodies of 92 others have also been identified through DNA matching and will be transferred to relatives soon.
Hundreds of relatives of the crash victims provided DNA samples at the hospital over the weekend.
Civil superintendent Dr Rakesh Joshi urged the bereaved families not to panic over the delay in handing over bodies. "We are trying our best to finish this process as soon as possible. Some are complaining that the results have not come even after 72 hours," he said.
"I appeal to them not to panic, because this is a very important process with legal implications. We will call them as soon as results arrive."
Meanwhile, funerals were held in Ahmedabad for some of the crash victims, including former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani.
On Sunday, officials from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) surveyed the site of the plane crash.
Authorities have also begun inspecting Air India’s entire fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners, aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said. Eight of the 34 Dreamliners in India have already undergone inspection, Kinjarapu said, adding that the remaining aircraft will be examined with “immediate urgency".
The plane that crashed was 12 years old. Boeing planes have been plagued by safety issues on other types of aircraft. There are currently around 1,200 of the 787 Dreamliner aircraft worldwide and this was the first deadly crash in 16 years of operation, according to experts.
On Monday, a Delhi-bound Air India Boeing 787 flight was forced to turn back to Hong Kong after the pilot reported technical issues mid-air.
Air India plane crash latest: Evidence points to ‘extremely rare’ dual engine failure
Families of Air India crash victims facing ‘pain and frustration’ over delays
New footage shows moment British survivor of Air India crash emerges from flames
Grief engulfs neighbourhood where Air India Flight 171 killed dozens on the ground
Twenty victims of Air India plane disaster all connected to the same London temple
‘Like an earthquake’: Inside the medical hostel hit in Air India tragedy
