Air India plane crash | Pilots gave frantic 'Mayday' calls to Ahmedabad ATC before crash

New Delhi: “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday,” pilots of Air India’s ill-fated ‘Dreamliner’ aircraft headed to London screamed to the Air Traffic Controllers within a minute after it took off for London’s Gatwick airport from Ahmedabad.

The frantic efforts of the ATCs to reach the pilots – Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kundar – did not fructify and within minutes the Boeing-787 aircraft crashed into a building outside the airport perimeter.

First introduced in the 1920s, a ‘Mayday’ call is a standard protocol used globally and it is said “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday” thrice in a row to ensure that the message is heard by the responders clearly. The term is derived from French ‘m'aider’, which means “help me”.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a statement the flight crashed immediately after the take-off at 1:39 PM.

The flight had 242 people, including 10 cabin crew, on board the aircraft. Of the passengers, around 100 were women while around 20 were children, including three infants.

“As per ATC, aircraft departed from Ahmadabad at 1339 IST (0809 UTC) from runway 23. It gave a MAYDAY Call to ATC, but thereafter no response was given by the aircraft to the calls made by ATC. Aircraft, immediately after departure from Runway 23, fell on ground outside the airport perimeter. Heavy black smoke was seen coming from the accident site,” the DGCA said.

Captain Sabharwal is an experienced pilot with around 8,200 hours of flying experience while the co-pilot had 1100 hours of flying experience

Immediately after the incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu. The Minister informed the Prime Minister that he is rushing to Ahmedabad to oversee rescue and relief operations on the ground.

The Prime Minister has directed the Minister to ensure all necessary support is extended immediately and asked to be kept regularly updated on the situation. All relevant agencies are on high alert, and coordinated efforts are underway, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said.

Officials said Naidu was in Vijayawada attending the first anniversary events of the NDA government when he came to know about the incident and rushed to Ahmedabad.

"Treating the incident with utmost urgency, the Minister cut short his engagements. He is in constant contact with senior officials from DGCA, AAI, NDRF, and the Gujarat State administration to ensure swift, coordinated response and support," they said.