 "Flight AI171, with 242 on board, crashed into a residential area in Meghaninagar, Ahmedabad. PTI")
India witnessed one of its worst aviation disasters on Thursday (June 12), after a London-bound Air India flight crashed just a few minutes after take-off from Ahmedabad airport .
The flight was carrying 242 people, including crew members and passengers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the site today with Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. Modi also met the lone survivor, Indian-origin British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, at the hospital.
Just a day earlier, Home Minister Amit Shah along with Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu arrived at the site yesterday to take stock of the situation.
According to official statements, the flight departed at 13:38, carrying 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, one Canadian and seven Portuguese nationals.
Get live updates about the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here
Whenever an aviation disaster such as this occurs, the authorities look for the plane’s black box which is present in the cockpit.
It is a crucial piece of equipment that helps figure out the cause of the disaster. The search for Air India Flight 171’s black box has been going on since yesterday. Now, one of the two boxes has been recovered.
But what is it? Is it really black? Why is it so crucial?