New findings and confirmed victims: All the latest information about the Air India plane crash

Since the crash of the Air India plane on June 12, moments after takeoff from Ahmedabad, new confirmed information has steadily emerged. Authorities have recovered flight recorders, a sole survivor has been found, and experts have weighed in on technical clues. Here is all the new information known so far.

Both black boxes have now been recovered

Air India plane crash: Investigation underway, black boxes found https://t.co/bvMzjnxQOW

— ABC13 Houston (@abc13houston) June 13, 2025

Two black boxes were onboard the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The first, located in the rear of the aircraft and containing the flight data recorder (FDR), was recovered within 28 hours. According to Hindustan Times, the second black box, the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), was found on Sunday, June 15.

The black boxes are key to understanding the aircraft’s final moments. They record data, as well as things such as a cockpit voice recorder for pilot exchanges and cockpit sounds. Speaking to GB News, Aviation expert, Emma Henderson, explained that it will be extracted like “putting a jigsaw puzzle together… so that we can see a full picture of what happened.”

She added: “Aviation always learns from these terrible tragedies. And the way we learn is to find out that information which is stored in the black box.”

First responder recalls exact moment sole survivor was found

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On the day of the accident, Satinder Singh Sandhu, a cluster fleet manager for EMRI 108 at Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital, heard a loud noise and saw a cloud of smoke. He immediately left in an ambulance and was among the first to reach the scene.

“The first person we spotted was the hostel guard who suffered primary burn injuries,” Sandhu said. “Even as he was dispatched in an ambulance as the first patient from the site, we saw a man coming out near the building.”

That man was identified as Ramesh Viswashkumar, the only survivor from the crash. “We shouted to him as he appeared disoriented and tried to go back to the site, even as fire and smoke billowed,” Sandhu recalled. “We later got to know his brother was on the flight, and he was trying to check on him.”

Air India’s response and the official investigation

Air India confirms that flight AI171, from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, was involved in an accident today after take-off.

The flight, which departed from Ahmedabad at 1338 hrs, was carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft. Of these, 169 are…

— Air India (@airindia) June 12, 2025

Air India initially stated: “Flight AI171, operating Ahmedabad-London Gatwick, was involved in an incident today, 12 June 2025. At this moment, we are ascertaining the details.” It later added: “Air India is giving its full cooperation to the authorities investigating this incident.”

A mayday call was made by the captain, Sumeet Sabharwal, seconds after takeoff. Investigators, led by Indian aviation authorities with support from the UK and US, are focusing on possible engine failure, issues with the wing flaps, and landing gear configuration. No official explanation has yet been provided.

What experts have said

Former British Airways pilot and aviation analyst Alastair Rosenschen observed that crash footage shows the plane’s landing gear was still down. “The gear should not be down and effective as soon as you have got a positive rate of climb, after take-off,” he said. “If the gear was still down, then that would suggest that something is untoward.”

He also explained the role of wing flaps during takeoff and warned that “if the aircraft is not travelling quickly enough, the wrong flap setting would bring the jet down.”

Separately, crash analyst and commercial pilot Captain Steeeve uploaded a video yesterday analysing footage of the crash. He pointed out that the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) had deployed. It’s a device meant to generate emergency power during extreme failures.

Victim count and ongoing identification

Grieving families were due to hold funerals in India on Sunday for their relatives who were among at least 279 killed in one of the world's worst plane crashes in decades.https://t.co/HiZkUofae0

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) June 15, 2025

According to Air India, there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese, one Canadian, and 12 crew onboard. The crash killed 229 passengers and 12 crew, plus 38 people on the ground, totalling 279 fatalities. Only one person survived: Ramesh Viswashkumar, seated in 11A.

As of late Sunday, approximately 80 of the deceased had been identified. Dr. Rajnish Patel of Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital said, “This is a meticulous and slow process, so it has to be done meticulously only.”

Families were reportedly told not to open coffins.

Rinal Christian, the younger brother of one victim, told AFP: “They said it would take 48 hours. But it’s been four days and we haven’t received any response. My brother was the sole breadwinner of the family. So what happens next?”

The cause of the crash remains officially unknown.

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