One month after Ahmedabad plane crash, kin of passengers on same route admit to anxiety

Ahmedabad: Exactly a month after Air India flight 171 from Ahmedabad to London crashed soon after taking off, killing 241 persons onboard and 19 on the ground, kin of several passengers on the route on Saturday said the one-month anniversary of the horrific aviation disaster had brought back fate-linked anxieties.

The Dreamliner ended up as a massive ball of fire after it crashed into BJ Medical College hostel in Meghaninagar here moments following take off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1:39pm on June 12. While 241 of 242 passengers died, 19 fatalities on the ground included four medical students.

Flight code AI-171 was suspended after the horrific crash before resuming on June 16 with the new AI-159 flight code. Air India's website informed that the flight took off from here at 1:08pm on Saturday.

While most of the kin left after passengers they had come to see off entered the sprawling terminal building following check-in at 10am, some milled around waiting for the flight to depart in order to set to rest emotions linked to the recollection of the tragedy.

Among them was Bhartiben Prajapati, a resident of Kadi town in Mehsana, who waited along with her husband Rajesh Prajapati and other kin. After a brief stay in Kadi, Bhartiben and Rajesh's daughter Dharti was going to back to London to be with her husband.

"We are a little nervous because Dharti is going on the same flight that crashed a month ago. That is why we are staying back till her flight takes off. We can't change what is written in our fate. But I am confident my daughter will reach safely," Bhartiben said.

Rajesh Prajapati was far more poised and asserted no one can reach anywhere if people start latching on to such tragedies.

"Whatever happened has happened. We must move forward. Such incidents do not happen often. We have to forget the past. Otherwise, we can never reach anywhere. I am not worried because I am confident the government is taking adequate steps to see such incidents do not take place," he said calmly.

Bhavnagar resident Gajanand Pandya, who had come to see off his daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter who are settled in London for the past seven years, sat on a bench for nearly three hours and left for home in a taxi only after getting confirmation that the flight had taken off.

"They came here to spend some time with us and went back today on the same flight. I stayed back at the airport because I was a little worried. Though I know that such plane crashes happen very rarely, it is natural for a father to have concern for his children. That is why I did not leave for Bhavnagar immediately," Pandya said.

Pandya said he had read news reports about both engines of the ill-fated flight shutting down mid-air seconds after take-off due to a technical issue.

"I urge the government to ensure stringent technical checks are done so that such incidents are never repeated ever again," he emphasised.