The captain of the doomed Air India flight warned his engine was “losing power” just moments before crashing in a huge fireball.
Sumeet Sabharwal and his co-pilot Clive Kundar cried “mayday” as they lost altitude moments after taking off from Ahmedabad Airport on Thursday morning.
Mr Sabharwal, who had 8,200 hours of flying experience, said he had “no thrust” and was “unable to lift” less than 650ft in the air before plunging into the ground.
Footage of the incident circulating online shows the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft drifting over a residential area before disappearing out of shot.
Seconds later, a huge blaze erupts before large plumes of black smoke tower into the sky.
The plane lost contact just seconds into its 4,200-mile, ten-hour journey to London Gatwick Airport, according to Flightradar.
Air India confirmed that 241 of the 242 people aboard Flight 171 died in the tragedy.
And a police officer told Reuters at least 290 people are believed to have died in the devastating crash, including victims who were on the ground. No offical death toll has yet been given.
Authorities believe others killed were on the ground after the plane hit the BJ Medical College.
Akeel Nanabawa, his wife Hannaa Vorajee and their daughter Sara, four, of Gloucester, and a couple from London are among those feared dead.
British-Indian man Vishwash Kumar Ramesh miraculously survived the disaster.
Air India confirmed there were 53 British passengers on board the flight.
Authorities have already found one of the plane’s two black boxes that will help in revealing what triggered the accident.
According to local reports, the Boeing aircraft had undergone a service as recently as March.
Aviation experts believe the plane may have lost power during the critical climb phase.
Possible theories for the cause of the crash include a bird strike, rapid wind change or engine stall.
