What did Air India pilot say in the May Day call? Frantic words of captain seconds before crash that killed 241 people
The pilot of Air India's doomed flight out of Ahmedabad issued a desperate mayday call moments before the plane crashed into a doctors' hostel.
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal warned the plane was "losing power" just 11 seconds after lift-off. 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. The cause of the crash is yet to be established. Sabharwal had 22 years of experience and had racked up 8,200 in the air.
The plane had just a few hundred feet of altitude when the power apparently cut out. Air India, the airline, confirmed on Thursday evening that just one person survived out of the 242 people on board.
He is reported to be a 40-year-old British dad, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh. The plane was headed to London Gatwick.
Police have said that at least 265 people were killed in the disaster, after locals on the ground were also crushed by the huge fuselage which exploded in a ball of flames. The Brits onboard who died include a family-of-three, a mum-of-three with her grandson, a pair of sisters and a wellness business couple.