The fiery end to Air India’s Ahmedabad-London Gatwick flight 171, with the tragic loss of at least 265 lives, has shaken the country and several communities abroad. Many lives, hopes and aspirations were snuffed out in minutes as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner unbelievably became powerless soon after take-off and descended from 625 feet to the ground, crashing a short distance from the airport. The disaster that befell the flight will remain seared in the country’s consciousness, just as major tragedies in the past have. There appeared little hope of many survivors among the 242 people on board the plane from the explosive blaze that enveloped the aircraft on impact, although one passenger miraculously survived. Poignantly, the crash claimed the lives of at least seven people at the BJ Medical College, including five medicos. Details of other victims on the ground are bound to emerge in the coming days, along with more insights into what happened to the wide-bodied aircraft on the fateful Thursday afternoon. Videos of the plane crash show it failing to achieve a positive rate of climb immediately on take-off and losing altitude with a high angle of attack in aviation parlance, its nose pointing upward. Global attention is focused on the fact that the Air India Dreamliner is the first aircraft of its type to crash; it was a direct purchase by the airline, one of many, and has operated about 41,000 hours and........

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