Indian authorities have released details about the pilot and crew on board the Air India flight that crashed today. The flight was bound for London Gatwick but went down shortly after take off this morning as it carried 242 passengers.
A statement was issued by India’s directorate general of civil aviation giving details about the pilot and crew. "Captain Sumeet Sabharwal is an LTC with 8,200 hours of experience," it reads. "The co-pilot had 1100 hours of flying experience.
"As per ATC, the aircraft departed from Ahmadabad at 1339 IST (0809 UTC) from runway 23. It gave a mayday call to ATC, but thereafter, no response was given by the aircraft to the calls made by ATC.
"Aircraft immediately after departure from Runway 23, fell on the ground outside the airport perimeter. Heavy black smoke was seen coming from the accident site."
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
