Air India pilot's chilling 'mayday' call as he warned plane was 'losing power' moments before crash killed 229 on board

13 June 2025, 00:07 | Updated: 13 June 2025, 00:12

Officer Clive Kunder, top right, and Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, bottom right, warned the plane was losing power moments before it crashed.
Officer Clive Kunder, top right, and Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, bottom right, warned the plane was losing power moments before it crashed. Picture: Social media/Getty

By Jacob Paul

The pilot of the doomed Air India flight warned in a panicked call the plane was 'losing power' moments before it crashed, killing all but one person on board.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

Air India flight 171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, careened back to earth in the densely populated Meghani area of the Ahmedabad, hitting doctors’ accommodation and a student canteen minutes after leaving the runway at about 1pm local time.

Air India says 229 passengers and 12 crew died - adding that the sole survivor is receiving treatment in hospital.

Moments before the crash, pilot Sumeet Sabharwal reportedly called out 'Mayday…no thrust, losing power, unable to lift' in a panicked warning, according to reports.

Sabharwal had 8,200 hours of flying experience under his belt. Clive Kundar, his co-pilot, had 1,100 hours of experience.

Read more: Air India confirms only one survivor from 242 people on board Ahmedabad plane crash

Read more: British passenger walks away as sole survivor on Air India plane crash that killed more than 290 people

Captain Sumeet Sabharwal 'called out mayday' moments before the plane crashed
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal 'called out mayday' moments before the plane crashed. Picture: Social media
Clive Kunder, from Mumbai, was the co-pilot on the flight.
Clive Kunder, from Mumbai, was the co-pilot on the flight. Picture: Social media

Footage shows the pair despreftaly attempting to nudge up the plane's nose as they scrambled to avoid a crash.

The Boeing was around 400ft above ground when it lost power in both engines. The plane was reportedly flying at a height of 625 feet, less than a minute after take off, at the time signal was lost.

It took just 17 seconds for the vehicle to then plunge into a medical college filled with doctors. At least 50 people on the ground were reportedly killed, with scores more injured.

How Air India passenger plane crash unfolded
How Air India passenger plane crash unfolded. Picture: Getty

Videos show the aircraft flying low over the city rooftops before disappearing have emerged, with a fireball erupting in the distance after the jet goes out of sight.

According to flight tracking app Flightradar24, signal from the aircraft was lost at 10:08 local time.

A pilot told LBC he believed it was a “tragic accident” and believed it was likely down to pilot error.

An investigation is under way to establish the cause of the crash.

He said the 787 was a “phenomenal aeroplane” that was an “absolute dream to fly.”

“What we have to realise is errors, mistakes… can happen at any time and people are only human.”

“There is no single manufacturing process in the entire world which is flawless. Boeing will strive to do as much as they possibly can to iron out any errors.”

Experts have said that looking at footage of the plane’s final moments it appeared it may have been on the wrong flap setting which could have led to the crash.

Other aviation experts have speculated about a number of possible causes for the crash, including both engines failing – possibly due to a bird strike, as happened in the so-called Miracle on the Hudson in 2009.

At least 290 died due to the crash.
At least 290 died due to the crash. Picture: Getty

53 Britons were aboard the flight at the time of the crash, Air India has confirmed.

Just one, the only person to survive the crash, came out alive.

In a statement on Thursday morning, Gatwick Airport confirmed: "We can confirm that flight AI171 that crashed on departure from Ahmedabad Airport today was due to land at London Gatwick at 18:25."

Footage emerging on social media shows dark plumes of smoke rising into the air in a built-up area close to the airport.

In a statement Air India said: “The 12-year-old Boeing 787-8 aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1338 hrs, carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew..

“The aircraft crashed shortly after take-off. We regret to inform that, of the 242 aboard, there are 241 confirmed fatalities.“The sole survivor is being treated in a hospital. The passengers comprised 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, 7 Portuguese nationals and 1 Canadian national.“

The survivor is a British national of Indian origin.“Air India offers its deepest condolences to the families of the deceased.

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, is believed to be the only survivor of the crash.

Speaking outside the family home in Leicester, his brother, Nayan Kumar Ramesh, 27, said: “We were just shocked as soon as we heard it.“I last spoke to him yesterday morning. We’re devastated, just devastated.“

He said ‘I have no idea how I exited the plane’.”

Latest World News

See more Latest World News

Monks wearing orange robes praying

Thai woman filmed herself having sex with Buddhist monks and blackmailed them

A few houses sit on a grassy area with mountain ranges in the background

Tsunami warning issued following 7.3 magnitude earthquake in Alaska

Shocking footage showed the stage at the iconic European dance festival in Boom, Belgium, engulfed in flames on Wednesday afternoon

Tomorrowland main stage destroyed by fire hours before festival start

As the news reporter is presenting - a huge explosion is captured erupting in the background.

Moment Israeli airstrike blasts Syria military HQ on live TV as news reporter flees in terror

Smoke billows following Israeli strikes near the Syrian army and defence ministry headquarters in Damascus.

Israel warns 'painful blows will come' as it ramps up strikes on Syria and sends more troops to the border

A volcano in Iceland has erupted, leading to evacuations.

Iceland volcano erupts for 12th time since 2021, prompting evacuations from iconic Blue Lagoon spa

A man and a woman smile at the camera

Ghislaine Maxwell could use ‘government misconduct’ to challenge imprisonment

Thousands of starving Palestinians flock to an aid distribution centre in order to receive food package.

At least 19 die in crowd crush near Gaza aid distribution centre, says US and Israel-backed aid group

Taliban fighters display their flag on patrol in Kabul, Afghanistan (Rahmat Gul/AP)

Taliban claims it has had the 'kill list' for years and is hunting down Afghans named

Bradley Murdoch, the killer of British backpacker Peter Falconio has died after being moved to palliative care last month.

The killer of backpacker Peter Falconio has died without revealing the location of the Briton's remains

People search for their belongings amid the debris of destroyed houses in the aftermath of Israeli bombardment in Gaza City, on July 15, 2025.

Israeli strikes kill more than 90 Palestinians overnight, including 19 members of the same family

An Etihad Airways Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

India-bound Boeing forced to turn back mid-flight amid concerns over fuel switches

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Mark Rutte, NATO's secretary general, at the White House

Trump announces weapons for Ukraine after he allegedly asked Zelenskyy whether they can hit Moscow

A 19-year-old worker sucked into an industrial meat grinder at Tina’s Burritos has died.

Teen sucked into meat grinder at California burrito factory dies as horrified colleagues watch on

Disney Dream is a cruise ship operated by Disney Cruise Line, part of The Walt Disney Company. Aerial view

Police reveal how girl, aged 5, fell overboard from Disney cruise ship before father saved her

Members of a search and rescue team embrace as they visit a memorial wall for flood victims, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas.

Emergency workers suspend search for survivors of catastrophic flooding in Texas amid new severe weather warnings