Air India plane crash: AI 171 pilot had 8,200 hrs, co-pilot had 1,100 hrs of flight experience

Air India plane crash: The Air India flight from Ahmedabad to Gatwick that crashed near the Ahmedabad airport on Thursday afternoon had 242 people on board, including the two pilots and 10 cabin crew.

According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the flight was under the command of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal with First Officer Clive Kundar. Sabharwal had a flight experience of 8,200 hours and Kundar had a flight experience of 1,100 hours.

The pilots gave a MAYDAY call to the ATC but there was no response given by the aircraft to the call made by the ATC thereafter. Visuals on social media showed thick black smoke billowing from the site of the crash.

The DGCA stated that as per ATC, the aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1:39 pm from runway 23.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Kanan Desai said they are acquiring details about the casualties. Fire tenders were rushed to the spot. An official also said that several injured people were taken to the city civil hospital.