Ahmedabad Plane Crash: Centre holds first press briefing; investigations regarding the accident underway

New Delhi (India) June 14: Ram Mohan Naidu, the minister of civil aviation refuted all the rumours about the Air India tragedy on Saturday and asked for patience while the investigation is conducted. According to him, a high-level committee will assess the current investigation and associated developments in a meeting on Monday.

Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said, “Last two days have been extremely difficult especially for the people in the Ministry and everyone else. The accident near Ahmedabad airport shook the entire nation. My deepest condolences are with family members who have lost their loved ones” during the press conference.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed just 33 seconds after taking off Thursday from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in the city, but aviation officials reported that the aircraft's black box has been recovered. This recovery is expected to shed some light on the events that led to the tragedy.

Ram Mohan Naidu also stated that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) had already started deciphering the black box's contents "with full force." The black box, which included the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) was discovered on a rooftop close to the wreckage.

The black box will assist authorities in identifying the cause of the Ahmedabad plane tragedy. It will tell whether the accident was due to human error or technical issues. It will display comprehensive data, including cockpit chats, control inputs, flying altitude, and engine settings.

A high-level, multidisciplinary committee has been established by the Centre to look into the Air India plane accident.

The Civil Aviation Ministry said, “The Committee will examine the causes leading to the crash, study current Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and recommend comprehensive guidelines to prevent such disasters in the future” in an order.

The debris that was spread across the rooftop of the doctors' hostel in the city's Meghani Nagar area was inspected jointly on Saturday by teams from the NSG, NDRF, Indian Air Force, Fire and Rescue, Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), DGCA, and CISF.

On Thursday afternoon, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner operated by Air India, carrying 242 passengers from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick had crashed soon after takeoff. The plane crashed just near the boundaries of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, in the heavily populated Meghani Nagar. For miles, thick black smoke plumes could be seen. The majority of passengers in the plane were Indian with 53 British, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian. Only one person managed to survive the crash.

The incident claimed the life of Vijay Rupani, a former Gujarat chief minister who was travelling to London to meet his daughter. The plane slammed into the dorm building of the B J Medical College in the Meghani Nagar and killed at least 24 people on the ground which included four medical students.

The airline's owner, the Tata Group has promised to compensate each victim's family with Rs 1 crore. According to the Montreal Convention treaty, Air India will be required to pay around Rs 1.5 crore in compensation.

Aadrika Tayal