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The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the national civil aviation regulator, initiated an investigation into the crash of Air India flight AI-171 on Thursday afternoon that occurred shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. According to a senior DGCA official, the aircraft involved was a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, registered as VT-ANB.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation established a joint operational control room, by converting the existing AAI Ops room, in order to coordinate the rescue, response and passenger assistance efforts in the aftermath of the tragic incident. 

This control room is being manned by officers from DGCA, BCAS, CISF, ATC, CNS, and the Airport Operations Department of the Airports Authority of India.

The control room will primarily be responsible for coordinating with: 

The control room will collect information about the crash site and related updates centrally and will ensure timely dissemination of accurate information, operating on a 24x7 basis indefinitely, according to a ministry statement. 

The control room will give assistance on areas like passenger identification and logistical arrangements for the impacted families. 

The flight was en route from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick and was carrying a total of 242 individuals, including 2 pilots and 10 cabin crew members.

The aircraft was under the command of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a Line Training Captain (LTC) with over 8,200 hours of flying experience. 

Moreover, Sabharwal was accompanied by First Officer Clive Kundar, who had logged approximately 1,100 hours of flight time.

Air Traffic Control (ATC) confirmed that the aircraft departed from Runway 23 at 13:39 pm. Shortly after takeoff, the crew issued a mayday call. However, subsequent attempts by ATC to establish communication with the aircraft were unsuccessful.

“Immediately after departure, the aircraft crashed outside the airport perimeter. Heavy black smoke was observed billowing from the accident site,” the DGCA official stated.

The DGCA has assured that a thorough inquiry will be conducted, and findings will be shared in due course.

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