Sole survivor reveals plane’s lights ‘flickered green and white’ before Air India disaster killed 241

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Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, tells investigators aircraft ‘felt stuck in air’ seconds after takeoff as electrical failure theory emerges in India’s worst aviation tragedy in decades

The only person to survive the catastrophic Air India Flight 171 crash has provided crucial testimony about the aircraft’s final moments, describing how cabin lights “started flickering green and white” before the plane plummeted into buildings near Ahmedabad airport.

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, who remarkably survived when 241 others perished, told reporters from his hospital bed that the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner appeared to lose power just seconds after takeoff on Thursday afternoon.

“When the flight took off, within five to 10 seconds it felt like it was stuck in the air,” the British national said.

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.

His account has become central to the investigation, with aviation specialists interpreting his observations as potential evidence of catastrophic electrical system failure.

‘Miracle’ survivor walked from wreckage

Ramesh, who was seated in 11A – an emergency exit row seat – survived what has become India’s deadliest aviation disaster since the 1990s, with at least 269 people killed including those on the ground.

“Everything happened in front of my eyes. I don’t believe how I survived. For some time I thought I was also going to die. But when I opened my eyes, I realized I was alive,” Ramesh told Indian national broadcaster DD News.

The 40-year-old father described how his section of the aircraft crashed into the ground floor of a medical college hostel, creating a small gap through which he escaped.

When my door broke, I saw there was a bit of space. So I tried to get out and I was able to get out. I just walked out,” he explained.

Electrical failure theory gains ground

Aviation experts have seized on Ramesh’s detailed account of the flickering cabin lights as potential evidence of electrical system malfunction.

After the takeoff, within a minute, it felt like the plane came to a standstill in air for 5 to 10 seconds,” Ramesh said. The green and white cabin lights turned on in the flight. I could feel engine thrust increasing to go up, but it crashed with speed into the building.”

Former NTSB investigator Jeff Guzzetti told NPR: “It just appears to me that the airplane is unable to climb.

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner used the full length of the 11,499-foot runway before takeoff, according to flight tracking data, reaching a maximum altitude of just 625 feet before beginning its fatal descent.

Brother among 241 victims

In a cruel twist of fate, Ramesh’s brother Ajay, 45, who was seated in a different row, was among those killed in the crash.

When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran,” Ramesh recounted.

The brothers had been returning to London after visiting family in India and had requested seats together, but high occupancy meant they were separated – a decision that ultimately saved one life while claiming the other.

First Dreamliner crash with fatalities

The crash marks the first fatal accident involving Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner since the aircraft entered service in 2009.

Air India Flight 171 departed at 1:38 p.m. local time bound for London Gatwick with 230 passengers and 12 crew members aboard, including 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian.

The aircraft crashed into the BJ Medical College and Hospital hostel in the Meghaninagar neighbourhood, killing at least five medical students on the ground and injuring dozens more.

PM Modi visits ‘miracle’ survivor

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ramesh in hospital on Friday, with footage showing the leader consoling the sole survivor.

“I still can’t believe how I survived. I walked out of the rubble,” Ramesh told the Prime Minister.

Dr. Dhaval Gameti at Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital said that while Ramesh “was disoriented with multiple injuries all over his body... he seems to be out of danger.”

Black box recovered as investigation intensifies

Indian authorities confirmed Friday that the digital flight data recorder has been recovered from a rooftop near the crash site, marking a crucial step in determining the exact cause of the disaster.

“This marks an important step forward in the investigation,” said Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, India’s Union Minister of Civil Aviation. “This will significantly aid the enquiry into the incident.”

Investigators from the United States and United Kingdom have joined Indian officials in examining what caused the Boeing 787 to lose altitude so catastrophically just 30 seconds after takeoff.

Aviation experts stunned by survival

Graham Braithwaite, director of aerospace and aviation at Britain’s Cranfield University, called Ramesh’s survival “extraordinary.”

“An aircraft crash-landing in an uncontrolled way in a built-up area and when full of fuel is one of the worst scenarios in terms of survivability,” Braithwaite said.

CNN safety analyst David Soucie expressed surprise that someone in seat 11A would survive, noting it was “right where the spar of the wing would go under and it would be a solid place for the aircraft to hit the ground.

Family’s grief and relief

Back in Leicester, England, Ramesh’s family described receiving a video call from him immediately after the crash.

When he called us he was just more worried about my other brother, like ‘Find Ajay, find Ajay,'” his brother Nayan told the BBC. “That’s all he cares about at the moment.”

MP Shivani Raja of Leicester East called the survival “nothing short of a miracle,” adding: “One of his brothers was also on that flight who sadly didn’t survive.”

As investigators pore over the wreckage and analyze Ramesh’s crucial testimony about the aircraft’s electrical systems, the aviation world awaits answers about what caused this first fatal crash of Boeing’s flagship Dreamliner – and how one man walked away when 241 others could not.