India, Gatwick Airport
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The Air India flight fell from the sky on Thursday and killed at least 270 people in Gujarat state, officials said Saturday.
The seven-year-old Boeing 787-8 had only reached 22,000 feet before it hit the unexpected descent — prompting the pilot to turn the aircraft around quickly, according to AirNav radar.
Officials said they had found the cockpit voice recorder that may provide crucial clues about what caused the Air India flight to crash, killing at least 270 people.
Indian authorities have ordered what they called “extended surveillance” of all Boeing 787 aircraft in the country’s fleet while they investigate the cause of the Air India crash.
Multiple Indian agencies, including the National Security Guard (NSG), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indian Air Force, forensic teams, fire and rescue services are inspecting the wreckage of the London-bound Air India jet, which crashed into the rooftop of a doctors’ hostel in Ahmedabad. The area remains fully cordoned off.
The crash happened just weeks after the company cut a deal with the U.S. government to avoid taking criminal responsibility for a pair of deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019.
Air India said it has completed such safety checks on nine of its Boeing 787 aircraft and is in process to complete it for the remaining 24 planes.
Boeing stock was falling Thursday after an Air India plane carrying 242 passengers and crew crashed near the western Indian city of Ahmedabad. One passenger survived the crash, The Wall Street Journal reported,