Lights on Air India flight ‘started flickering’ and plane was ‘stuck in the air’ seconds before plummeting to the ground, British survivor claims – as investigators probe ‘engine thrust, flaps and landing gear’
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The British sole survivor of the Air India crash has revealed how the lights began flickering just before it went down and ‘people died in front of my eyes’.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, from Leicester, has also described feeling like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner was ‘stuck in the air’ and ‘came to a standstill’ rather than climbing after take off.
Aviation experts have speculated online that the flickering lights and other symptoms described by Mr Ramesh on board could be a sign of a power failure.
Air India are looking at several aspects of the crash including issues with the jet’s engine thrust, its flaps, and why its landing gear remained open, a source close to the investigation has said.
The government is also looking at whether Air India was at fault, including over maintenance issues, the same insider said. The airline has also been ordered by India’s aviation regulator to do safety checks on its entire Boeing 787 fleet.
But the key witness is Mr Ramesh – the only person to walk away from the Ahmedabad air disaster.
Describing what happened after take off in an interview from his hospital bed he said today: ‘When the flight took off, within five to 10 seconds it felt like it was stuck in the air.
‘Suddenly, the lights started flickering – green and white.
‘The aircraft wasn’t gaining altitude and was just gliding before it suddenly slammed into a building and exploded.’
It came after a passenger on the plane when it flew the day before the crash claimed that electronics on the jet such as the screens in the seats were not working.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, sole survivor of the Air India flight 171 crash, at a hospital in Ahmedabad today. He says the plane’s lights flickered and it felt ‘stuck’ and unable to ascend after take off
The moment the plane went down. Vishwash says that the plane was gliding and not thrusting
Air India are looking at several aspects of the crash including issues with the jet’s engine thrust, its flaps, and why its landing gear remained open, a source close to the investigation has said. The Government is looking at Air India’s maintenance regime
Firefighters work to put out a fire at the site where an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane crashed in Ahmedabad
He added: ‘At first, I thought I was dead. Later, I realised I was still alive and saw an opening in the fuselage.
‘I managed to unbuckle myself, used my leg to push through that opening and crawled out.’
Commenting on his survival, Mr Ramesh said: ‘I don’t know how I survived. I saw people dying in front of my eyes.
‘The air hostesses, and two people I saw near me. I walked out of the rubble.’
Experts have said that identifying the dead is proving hard due to the severity of the disaster.
Forensics Professor Naresh Soni told the Telegraph: ‘All recovered remains have been transferred to the post-mortem unit. Our forensic teams are conducting DNA testing, and identification will be confirmed before remains are returned to families’.
Mr Ramesh was in seat 11A, next to one of the aircraft’s emergency exits. MailOnline has found footage that online aviation enthusiasts claim the emergency exit next to Mr Ramesh flew off just before the crash.
Experts have raised concerns about what might have caused the fatal Air India crash – including potential problems with the Boeing 787’s wing flaps and landing gear.
Investigations are being stepped up following yesterday’s tragedy that killed hundreds of people aboard the London Gatwick-bound aircraft – and the Dreamliner’s wing flaps are coming under extra scrutiny as possibly to blame.
Experts viewing footage of the Air India Boeing 787-8 ahead of the crash have said its configuration on taking off from Ahmedabad airport in India ‘doesn’t look right’.
The Dreamliner plane was carrying 242 passengers, including 53 Britons.
It has also been reported that an identical Boeing 787 made four emergency landings last month – an American Airlines plane with issues linked to its wing flaps not being properly deployed.
The aircraft is to have returned to Amsterdam not long after take-off toeards Philadelphia, before later aborted flights to Philadelphia from Dublin, Barcelona and Zurich, the Telegraph reported.
Meanwhile, one of the aircraft’s black boxes has been recovered while the search for the other one is ongoing.
Ex-British Airways pilot Alastair Rosenschein, watching video of Air India’s Flight 171 in yesterday’s tragedy, suggested the plane ‘clearly’ had its landing gear down – saying that was ‘not correct’ and that ‘it should have been up’.
A video posted to social media appeared to show the plane descending in a controlled manner with a high nose angle and landing gear deployed
The Air India flight to London with 242 people on board, including two pilots and 10 cabin crew members, crashed Thursday shortly after takeoff from an airport in Gujarat
Search and rescue teams respond to the scene of a plane crash in Ahmedabad, India, Thursday, June 12, 2025
He told Sky News: ‘It’s not immensely clear – but it does look like the aircraft didn’t have its take-off flap setting.’
He described how the flaps must be set accurately to extend each wing’s shape and generate further lift at lower speeds enabling take-off and follow-up climb.
Mr Rosenschein suggested the wing flaps issue ‘could explain why the aircraft came down’, with the plane then unable ‘to maintain flight’.
He added: ‘The video is not that clear, but it doesn’t look right to me. The altitude of the aircraft isn’t right either and the aircraft seems to be descending rather than climbing – it does look like it’s an aerodynamic issue because of not having the right flaps setting on take-off.’
The Air India tragedy that saw a Boeing 787 Dreamliner plummet into a residential neighborhood on Thursday continues to provoke speculation as to its cause.
Speculation has been rife that the plane was not correctly set up for takeoff – having not deployed its ‘flaps’, segments of the wing that are used to assist with lift.
Marco Chan, of Buckinghamshire New University, said the setting of the flaps was completely down to the pilot – with more flap increasing the surface area of the wing and helping with lift at lower speeds.
But if the plane is not travelling quickly enough, the wrong flap setting could actually work in reverse – and stall the plane. Footage appears to show the jet descending with its nose in the air, as if still trying to climb.
Debris is seen at the site where Air India flight 171 crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025
Civilians surround parts of the jet that seemingly smashed into a medical college canteen
Mr Chan said: ‘Looking at the footage there are several experts suggesting the flaps aren’t configured properly – it is hard to tell, but it could be a possibility.
‘Every take-off is slightly different and you may have a different flap setting. It may not have been set properly. If that is the case, that is definitely human error. But we do have other procedures to ensure that doesn’t happen.’
The plane had been en route to London Gatwick, having taken off shortly after 1pm local time, in fair flying conditions.
Air India received multiple safety concerns which has raised questions about its maintenance practices, it has now been claimed.
Sanat Kaul, former Joint Secretary of the Civil Aviation Ministry, said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation had written to the airline on several occasions to highlight safety and inspection issues.
Mr Kaul said: ‘In this matter, the DGCA Director General of Civil Aviation is the regulator.
‘It functions under the Ministry, but operates independently. DGCA had written to Air India several times, pointing out multiple issues, mainly regarding safety, things like improper inspections and other lapses.
‘So the question now arises about the maintenance procedures followed by Air India.
Briton Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, miraculously survived the plane disaster. Pictured: Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) meeting with Vishwash Kumar Ramesh in an Ahmedabad hospital
The plane’s sole survivor in hospital with a bloodied face and injuries after the tragic crash, which claimed the life of his younger brother
Astonishing footage showed the man walking away from the scene with some visible injuries to his face
Wreckage of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner lies at the site where the Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad, India, June 12, 2025
‘There’s also concern about what’s called ‘line maintenance’, the checks conducted by inspectors before every flight. How thorough and effective those checks were is now under scrutiny.’
Air India has yet to respond to Mr Kaul’s claims.
Meanwhile, the Indian government is considering grounding Air India’s Boeing 787 fleet, the country’s broadcaster NDTV reported.
Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said on Thursday: ‘Investigations will take time, but anything we can do now we are doing.’
He visited the crash site on Friday morning but did not answer any questions from reporters, having previously expressing his ‘deep sorrow’ over the tragedy.
Mr Wilson also said that Air India’s efforts were ‘focused entirely on the needs of our passengers, crew members, their families and loved ones’.
The British survivor of the Air India plane crash has been visited by Indian prime minister Narendra Modi.
Video footage shows Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, talking to Mr Modi while lying on his hospital bed.
