Families await bodies as US officials survey Air India crash site

Officials from the US National Transportation Safety Board surveyed the site as families continued to wait for DNA results to identify bodies

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Relatives mourn as they wait for the body of Akash Patni, 14, who died after an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane crashed during take-off from an airport, to arrive at his house for the last rites in Ahmedabad, India, on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Published: 7:21pm, 15 Jun 2025

Officials from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) surveyed the site of the Air India plane crash that killed at least 271 people, sources said on Sunday, with families continuing to wait for DNA profiling results to identify charred bodies.

Along with the NTSB, officials from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) were in Ahmedabad in western India’s Gujarat state surveying the crash site, said one source with direct knowledge.

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 people on board bound for Gatwick Airport south of London began losing height seconds after take-off in Ahmedabad on Thursday, and erupted in a huge fireball as it hit buildings below. All but one on board were declared dead in the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade.

Around 30 people died on the ground.

Air India and the Indian government were looking at several aspects of the crash, including issues linked to its engine thrust, flaps, and why the landing gear remained open as the plane took off and then came down.

The secretary of the US Department of Transport, Sean Duffy, said on Friday he was in the process of deploying a team from the FAA and the NTSB to India. Boeing and GE, whose engines were used in the plane, were also sending teams.

Members of the Indian Army’s engineering arm prepare to remove the wreckage of the Air India aircraft, in Ahmedabad on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

Families await bodies as US officials survey Air India crash site

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Officials from the US National Transportation Safety Board surveyed the site as families continued to wait for DNA results to identify bodies

Officials from the US National Transportation Safety Board surveyed the site as families continued to wait for DNA results to identify bodies