British man survives Air India plane crash that kills 290

0:01 Seconds after takeoff on its way to London Gatwick, this Air India flight crashes into a residential district. At least 290 are dead and somehow the passenger in seat 11A walks away. The Air India flight was bound for London. It takes off from Armedabad's International Airport in the state of Gujarat. Seconds later, it loses height and then crashes just outside the airport's perimeter. A huge plume of black smoke fills the air. People from across this city of 5 million get out their phones and film the aftermath of a tragedy that has shocked India.

0:48 I was sat at home. It suddenly sounded like a storm. And when I came out, there was smoke everywhere. We weren't aware that there had been a plane crash. We didn't know anything. When we came out here, we realized what had happened. Part of the plane lodged into a building. The tail fin with the Air India emblem ripped off and discarded. Beneath blackened trees, charred debris litters the streets. Personal belongings somehow still intact. 242 people were on board, among them 11 children. 169 were Indian nationals and at least 53 were from Britain. Rescuers and residents joined hands to

1:33 clear the rubble and search for survivors. And astonishingly, amidst all this devastation, there is one. Indian TV shows this man in the white shirt walking away from the crash. They say he's British passenger Vishwashkumar Ramsh. He was sat at seat 11A in the exit row. Now he lies in hospital greeted by India's interior minister having spoken to his family back in the UK. When the plane crashed, he video called my dad saying, "Oh, the plane's crashed. I'm not sure how I made out of the plane." He was confused and everything. He's like, "I can't see my other brother. I don't see any other passengers or anything.

2:19 One miraculous survivor, but police have said more than 290 people have been killed. That would include nearly all of those on board as well as dozens on the ground because the plane crashed into a residential neighborhood hitting a hostel housing medical students. According to air traffic control at Amedabad airport, Air India flight 171 departed at 1:39 local time. It then gave a Mayday call. Flight radar said the signal was lost just seconds after takeoff when the plane was at 625 ft. It crashed in the area of Mani Nagard just south of the airport, hitting several buildings that were part of the BJ Medical College. It's around these properties that the focus has been from

3:04 the rescue teams as this city deals with one of the worst airline disasters in years. In 2010, an Air India Express flight came down in Mangalore, killing 158 people. Back then, the airline was under government control and was criticized for mismanagement and huge debts. It was taken over by the Tatar group 3 years ago in a bid to revamp the carrier. Today's disaster will once again raise questions as well as for Boeing. The aircraft was a 787 Dreamliner, the first time this model has been involved in a crash. India's government has promised a full inquiry. We are going to do a fair and thorough investigation. We are not going to spare anyone. We are not going to leave any stone unturned. We'll do

3:51 properly according to the protocol and we are going to go to the depth of why this incident has happened. That much I can tell you now. For now, a shocked city and nation are coming to terms with a huge loss of life and many families in the UK too are waiting for news. Knowing that while there has been one survivor, he is the exception. Now, the plane was supposed to land at Gatwick in the last hour, but of course never made it there. Our correspondent Francis Reed is at Gatwick Airport for us now. Francis? Yes, Gatwick Airport has set up a reception center for the relatives on those on board to give information and support at this time. And actually, just in the last few minutes, we've seen people starting to lay flowers here as

4:38 well near the runway at Gatwick Airport as well. People just really wanting to pay their respects. No Air India flights are arriving or departing here from Gatwick Airport. We had a look at the desks earlier and all of the Air India flights are closed. Those deaths are closed at the moment. The foreign office has set up crisis teams in India and London and there are dedicated phone lines to help. Here's what the prime minister had to say in the last hour. I speak for the entire country and saying our thoughts are with each and every one of those involved. There will be British and Indian families across the land who are absolutely impacted by this and our thoughts first and foremost are with them. Obviously, the investigation is going on. We've dispatched an invest in

5:24 investigation team that's being deployed. The foreign secretary is leading um on this and we'll obviously update as soon as we can. Well, the king has said in a statement that he is desperately shocked. He said, "Our special prayers and deepest possible sympathy are with the family and friends of all those affected by this appallingly tragic incident across so many nations. Meanwhile, the UK Air Accidents Investigations branch has formally offered its assistance to investigators in India. Francis, thank you very much there, Francis at Gatwick Airport. Well, earlier I spoke to the aviation expert Dr. Vanana Singh and I started by asking her for her reaction to the crash. It has indeed been a very exhausting

6:11 day, a very tragic day for us here in India where so many souls, so many lives have been lost and the ripple effect and the multiplier effect of the families that are affected is humongous. Mo said that the aircraft crashed and when it crashed it went on to a medical college or a medical school where we believe about 39 40 students are injured and a couple dead and uh of course we are trying to retrieve the black box which should not be a problem because it's embedded inside uh the tail is embedded inside one of the buildings and we know that the black box is at the tail end and the flight data recorder is going to reveal a lot of facts. Having said that, the fact that comes to

6:56 my mind is perhaps this is a total electrical uh failure and if it was indeed a massive electrical fault as you say it might have been. I mean that is very very bad news for for the manufacturers of the aircraft Boeing because a Dreamliner has never had an accident like this before any kind of accident. You are right and the Dreamliner 787- got a very robust history. Uh it is it has got a very healthy history and uh it is a very safe equipment by Boeing to fly and everybody loves to fly this aircraft. This is the latest generation aircraft and this doesn't have these problems because when there are these issues then there are backups and

7:42 backups have their own backups as we know that. So therefore something has catastrophically gone wrong over here. I mean in one of the bits of social media footage you see that the flaps are flat when they should be pointing down so that the aircraft can get an upward lift. I mean you agree that this is very unusual for that to be the case at that stage just after takeoff. Exactly. I agree this is very very unusual and this question is definitely coming in everybody's mind. every expert who's looking into it, every pilot who's looking into it, who flies a Dream Liner for that matter, three PL pilots have been already interviewed and this is questionable why the flaps were the way

8:27 they were. And then but the then the question is that before this could happen, you have so many warning signals that are given that then why did the pilot even take off? Why? How could even the aircraft take off in such a situation? How unlikely is it for anyone to survive a crash like this, let alone as a walking wounded like the man from seat 11A? Exactly. Exactly. It's a miracle. It is a miracle because aviation fuel can be grueling and that just chars you up because it's more potent than kerosene as we know that. And this was fully loaded flight taking off for London. It is indeed a miracle.

9:13 Okay, we'll leave it there. Dr. Vandana Singh, thank you very much for your time.