Ramesh Vishwaskumar, the sole survivor of the Air India flight AI171 crash near Ahmedabad, has provided a harrowing account of the final moments before the Boeing 787 Dreamliner went down shortly after takeoff on Thursday. His testimony, coupled with emerging details from the recovered black box, is beginning to paint a clearer picture of the tragedy.
Vishwaskumar, a 40-year-old British citizen of Indian origin, was en route to London Gatwick with his brother. Seated in 11A, near a window and close to an emergency exit, he recalls a sense of unease shortly after the plane left the runway. According to Vishwaskumar, the aircraft struggled to gain altitude. "It wasn't climbing normally," he recounted from his hospital bed. "It felt like we were just gliding."
Eyewitnesses on the ground corroborate this, describing the plane flying unusually low with its landing gear extended – a sign of emergency maneuvers. Flight data indicates that just 33 seconds after takeoff, the pilots issued a 'Mayday' distress call, signaling a full emergency.
Vishwaskumar recalls the terrifying seconds before impact. "Everything happened so fast," he said. The aircraft then slammed into a building near the airport – the residential quarters of BJ Medical College, housing doctors and medical staff – and exploded. The impact and ensuing fire resulted in widespread devastation, with debris and bodies scattered across the crash site. Initial reports suggest the crash claimed the lives of all 241 other passengers and crew onboard, in addition to those on the ground, with the total death toll potentially exceeding 260.
Despite the carnage around him, Vishwaskumar miraculously survived. He remembers the side of the aircraft near his seat being damaged, creating an opening in the fuselage. "I used my leg to push through that opening, opened my seat belt and somehow crawled out," he explained. "Everyone around me was either dead or dying." Disoriented and injured, he managed to move away from the wreckage before it was engulfed in flames.
"I don't know how I survived," Vishwaskumar told DD News. "It's down to luck," said Tim Collins, Upstream Aviation Director. "He just must've been in the right place at the right time where there were no projectiles coming through the cabin. He was just lucky."
His immediate concern after escaping the wreckage was for his brother. Family friend Ayub Mansuri said that Ramesh made three brief phone calls after the crash, before his phone died, repeatedly asking, "Where is my brother?". Sadly, his brother is presumed to be among the deceased.
Meanwhile, a formal investigation has been launched by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), with support from American and British investigation teams. Investigators are analyzing data from the recovered black box – specifically the flight data recorder – to understand the sequence of events leading up to the crash. They are expected to consider multiple factors, including potential mechanical failure, fuel contamination, engine issues, and crew performance. Aviation experts suggest that the heavy fuel load for the London-bound flight may have exacerbated the post-crash fire, complicating rescue efforts.
