Month after Ahmedabad plane crash, silence and soot-covered buildings stand as grim reminders

Ahmedabad: A month after the Air India plane crashed on the bustling medical hostel complex near Ahmedabad airport, charred trees, soot-covered walls, and empty buildings now serve as grim reminders of the deadliest aviation accident in a decade.

On that day, Air India flight AI 171, a Boeing 787-8 aircraft en route to London Gatwick, crashed into the BJ Medical College hostel complex shortly after take-off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport.

The aircraft burst into flames, killing 241 out of 242 people onboard and 19 individuals on the ground, including several BJ Medical College students.

At the time of the crash, many medical students and resident doctors were either in their hostel rooms or gathered in the mess for lunch.

The tail section of the aircraft rammed into the mess building, turning an ordinary afternoon into a horrific scene of fire and destruction. Wreckage was scattered across the hostel grounds, and thick soot still clung to the damaged buildings.

One month later, barring a contingent of police personnel, the crash site shows no signs of activity.

Additional Commissioner of Police, Jaipal Singh Rathore, said approximately 50-60 police personnel have been deployed to guard the crash site.

He said the arrangement will be withdrawn after AAIB gives us a report in the next 2-4 days stating they are no longer needed at the spot..

According to a preliminary report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), the wreckage was spread over an area approximately 1,000 feet by 400 feet.

The aircraft’s descent began with an impact against several trees and an incineration chimney within the Army Medical Corps compound before it crashed into the northeast wall of Building A (the mess building), it said.

The crash site is located just 0.9 nautical miles from the departure end of the airport runway.

Four hostel buildings—Atulyam 1 to 4—and the mess building were severely damaged. BJ Medical College Dean Dr. Minakshi Parikh stated that approximately 150 students were displaced and promptly relocated to vacant rooms in other hostels or private apartments rented by the college.

"Within a week, we had made alternative arrangements for accommodation. The damaged mess building is no longer in use, and students are now being served at canteens operating in other hostel buildings,” she said.

The AAIB stated, "As the aircraft was losing altitude, it initially made contact with a series of trees and an incineration chimney inside the Army Medical Corps compound before impacting the northeast wall of Building A (hostel mess)".

The distance between the tree on which the aircraft made its initial contact and the point on Building A where the aircraft impacted is 293 ft.

As the aircraft moved forward, it continued fragmenting and colliding with other structures and vegetation, it said.

The report stated that the vertical stabiliser of the plane separated and came to rest about 200 feet south of the initial point of contact with the first building. The tail section and the main landing gear (MLG) of the aircraft were found embedded in the northeast wall of the same building while the rest of the aeroplane continued its forward movement, it said.

The damaged terrace of the mess building is leaning, with a gaping hole created by the tail which was removed ten days after the crash.

Further describing the impact of the crash, the AAIB report stated that the right engine of the aircraft struck the concrete water tank structure and rested underneath it after separating from the aeroplane.

Different parts of the aircraft separated after its initial contact with the first building, and struck four other buildings. The parts of the right wing were found in two affected buildings and the surrounding areas, while the left engine hit the north corner of the fourth building at ground level.

"The engine, remaining portions of the attached cowling, and the surrounding area were heavily damaged by fire," it said.