THE pilot of Air India’s doomed flight out of Ahmedabad issued a desperate mayday call moments before smashing into a doctors’ hostel.
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal warned the plane “losing power” – but could do nothing to avert the catastrophe.
The plane was seen wedged in a building[/caption]
The captain called out down his radio: “Mayday […] no thrust, losing power, unable to lift”.
Sabharwal had years of experience, and had racked up 8,200 in the air.
The plane was just a few hundred feet in the air when the power apparently cut out.
The two pilots wrestled for 17 seconds with the controls before the jet careened into the buildings below.
Air India, the airline, confirmed on Thursday evening that there was just one person survived out of the 242 people on board.
The plane was headed to London Gatwick with 232 passengers and 10 crew members when it crashed just seconds after take-off.
Police have said that over 290 people were killed in the disaster, after locals on the ground were also crushed by the huge plane.
Along with dozens of Brits, 169 Indian nationals, a Canadian and seven Portuguese travellers were also on board.
The Dreamliner lost contact just seconds after take-off, according to flight tracking website Flightradar.
A final alert was last logged less than a minute after it started the journey from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, only ever reaching an altitude of 625ft.
A terrifying video showed the moment the doomed Air India plane took off before crashing in a fireball while carrying 242 people.
Full harrowing CCTV footage was released capturing the Boeing 787 taking off before it beginning to sink.
The Brits onboard who died include a family-of-three, a mum-of-three with her grandson, a pair of sisters and a wellness business couple.
Names are emerging in a tragic drip-feed of information on Thursday evening.
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