Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Saturday addressed the press in the wake of the Air India plane tragedy in Ahmedabad and assured the nation that every possible step will be taken to ensure the safety of passengers.
"I want to reassure everyone that we will take all necessary measures to protect lives. This is a very difficult time for those who have lost their loved ones. DNA tests are being conducted to identify the bodies," he said during a briefing of the Ministry of Civil Aviation on the Ahmedabad plane crash on Thursday in which 297 people were killed and around 60 injured.
SK Sinha, the aviation ministry secretary, said the plane took off at 1.39 PM and, within a few seconds, after reaching a height of about 650 feet, it started sinking, which means started losing height.
"The pilot informed Ahmedabad ATC that it was a 'mayday', i.e., a full emergency. When ATC tried to contact, it did not receive a response. After exactly a minute the plane crashed in Medhaninagar, which is two kilometres from the airport. The Captain was Sumeet Sabharwal and the First Officer was Clive Sundar," he said.
Pilot declared emergency a minute after takeoff
The press conference began with a one-minute silence in honour of the victims. The Civil Aviation Secretary provided technical details of the crash, confirming that 242 people were on board.
The aircraft had taken off at 1:39 PM, and the pilot declared a full emergency shortly after. The incident occurred at 1:40 PM. Before this, the flight had successfully completed legs from Paris to Delhi and Delhi to Ahmedabad.
Black box report awaited: Aviation minister
Naidu added that the past two days had been emotionally challenging. "We tried to reach people and provide relief as quickly as possible after the incident. The ministry is taking this incident very seriously. A high-level committee has been constituted to investigate the matter. This team will also recommend measures to prevent such incidents in the future.
The black box was recovered yesterday at 5 PM, and it will help us gather more information about what happened," he added.
The air tragedy, the worst in the country in a decade, claimed the lives of 241 people onboard, including passengers and crew members and 56 people present in the medical hostel complex where the AI171 flight crashed, bringing the death toll to a disturbing 297. More than 60 people were injured in the crash and are undergoing treatment at hospitals in Ahmedabad.