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AN AIR India flight was forced to make an emergency landing after a bomb threat – just hours after the horror Ahmedabad plane crash.
Flight AI379 was on its route from Phuket, Thailand, to New Delhi, India, when it had to make an unexpected landing after receiving an explosion alert, according to officials.
This emergency landing happened shortly after Air India Flight AI171, carrying 242 passengers, crashed into a hospital, resulting in the death of nearly everyone on board and additional casualties on the ground.
Flight AI379 took off at 9:30am local time and circled the west coast of the island before landing again just minutes later.
The plane made a wide loop around the Andaman Sea before landing back on the island, according to Flightradar24.
The 156 passengers were evacuated from the plane in line with emergency protocol, an Airports of Thailand official said.
They also said the chilling bomb threat note was received on board the plane.
Thai airport officials were questioning the passenger who claimed to have found the ominous note on the jet.
No further details were made on the nature of the bomb threat, and it is understood that no bomb has been found yet.
Last year, various Indian airlines and airports were tricked with hoax bomb threats.
Nearly 1,000 fake calls and messages received in the first 10 months of 2024.
The bomb threat comes as rescuers continue to search through the rubble for any survivors in Ahmedabad.
In an unbelievable stroke of good fortune – one passenger managed to survive the deadly Air India Flight AI171.
Among the victims, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British national, emerged as the sole survivor of the tragic Indian air crash, walking away from a fiery catastrophe that claimed the lives of over 250 people.
His brother was just a few seats down and is feared to have died.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner with 242 passengers on board – including 53 Brits – smashed into a doctors’ hostel in the west of India.
The plane was headed to London Gatwick when it crashed just moments after take-off.
The pilot of the doomed flight out of Ahmedabad issued a desperate mayday call moments before smashing into a building.
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal warned the plane was “losing power” just 11 seconds after lift-off – but could do nothing to avert the catastrophe.
The captain called out down his radio: “Mayday […] no thrust, losing power, unable to lift”.
The two pilots then wrestled for 17 seconds with the controls as the jet sank through the air before careening into the buildings below.
The cause of the crash is yet to be established.
The catastrophic smash has resulted in the highest number of British deaths in a flight disaster since the 9/11 terror attacks.
On Thursday night, a team of British air crash investigators was being rushed to the crash scene as theories swirled about possible causes of the disaster.
They included pilot error, a bird or drone strike, or a freak change in wind direction causing a deadly double-engine stall.
Concerns over possible pilot error by experienced Captain Sumeet Sabharwal centred on video of the Dreamliner’s plunge.
It appeared to show the twin-engine jet’s wing flaps retracted — possibly too early — moments before the crash.
Pilots and experts said it is vital that the flaps are set to the correct position at take-off to maximise lift.
Wheels and the undercarriage are also supposed to be lifted quickly once the plane is airborne, to reduce drag.
But video footage of the crash jet shows its wheels were still down as it began descending.
A disastrous strike from a flock of birds is also possible, but not obvious from video footage.
Weather may also be a factor, with temperatures at the time of take-off close to 40C (104F). But reports suggested the air was relatively still and there were no signs of freak gusts, either from locals or on the video.
The only other possible cause would be a technical fault in one of the most modern and reliable aircraft flying today.
A man who claimed he was a passenger on the doomed plane on a previous flight hours earlier posted a video appearing to show the air conditioning, TV screens and lights not working on board.
Akash Vatsa posted on X that he noticed “unusual things” during its flight from Delhi to Ahmedabad on Thursday morning. In the footage, he can be heard saying: “The AC is not working at all. As usual, your TV screens are also not working, neither is the button to call the cabin crew. Nothing is working. Not even the light is working.”
Mr Vatsa said he originally filmed the clip to make a complaint to Air India, but shared it online following the disaster to highlight issues with the doomed plane.
FOUR CRASH THEORIES
WING FLAPS IN WRONG POSITION
VIDEO evidence suggests the flaps were retracted and landing gear down, which would have meant minimal lift and increased drag.
One theory is the landing gear was stuck and pilots retracted the flaps to reduce drag or the flaps were faulty, causing the plane to stall.
A BIRD STRIKE CRIPPLED ENGINES
A BIRD strike could have taken out both of the plane’s General Electric engines.
In 2021, a Dreamliner aborted take-off in Mexico after birds flew into one of its engines. A study in 2018 found Ahmedabad airport had “a high potential of bird-aircraft collision hazards”.
MISTAKE BY ONE OF THE PILOTS
THE 787-8 is highly automated with pilots making key decisions, but human error cannot be ruled out.
There was a mayday from the cockpit. Capt Sumeet Sabharwal, a trained flight instructor, had 8,000 hours’ experience and his co-pilot more than 1,000.
PLANE DIDN’T USE ENOUGH RUNWAY
PLANES get less lift on a hot day due to lower air density, so need to go faster.
Flight AI171 took off in 40C heat in the early afternoon sunshine. It’s suggested the amount of runway used was less than 2,000m when a full plane on a hot day usually needs a run of 2,500m.
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