The pilot of Air India’s doomed flight out of Ahmedabad issued a desperate mayday call just before crashing into a doctors’ hostel.
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal warned the plane was “losing power” just 11 seconds after takeoff, but could do nothing to prevent the disaster.
The captain communicated via radio: “Mayday, no thrust, losing power, unable to lift”.
The two pilots then wrestled with the controls for 17 seconds as the jet plummeted through the air before crashing into the buildings below.
The cause of the crash has yet to be determined.
Sabharwal had 22 years of flight experience and had accumulated 8,200 hours.
The plane was only a few hundred feet in the air when the power apparently went out, killing more British passengers than any other air disaster since 9/11.
Air India confirmed on Thursday evening that only one of the 242 passengers on board survived.
He is said to be Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British father.
The plane, carrying 232 passengers and ten crew members, crashed just seconds after takeoff on its way to London Gatwick.
According to police, at least 265 people were killed in the disaster, as locals on the ground were crushed by the massive fuselage that exploded in a ball of flames.
In addition to dozens of British passengers, there were 169 Indian nationals, a Canadian, and seven Portuguese travelers on board.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner lost contact just seconds after takeoff, according to flight tracking website Flightradar.
A final alert was logged less than a minute after it began its journey from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, and it only reached an altitude of 625 feet.
A terrifying video captured the moment the doomed Air India plane took off and crashed in a fireball while carrying 242 people.
Full harrowing CCTV footage was released, capturing the Boeing 787 taking off before sinking.
The British passengers who died included a family of three, a mother of three with her grandson, two sisters, and a wellness business couple.
On Thursday evening, names emerged as a tragic drip-feed of information.
A British family from Gloucester was killed, including recruitment consultant Akeel Nanabawa, 36, his wife Hannaa, 30, and their four-year-old daughter Sara.
In a Facebook post, the Gloucester Muslim Community stated, “We are profoundly heartbroken by the devastating loss of life.
Our hearts go out to all those who have been left behind in this time of overwhelming sorrow.”
Mum-of-three Raxa Modha, 55, of Wellingborough, Northants., and her two-year-old grandson, Rudra, both died on the flight.
Wellingborough Mayor Raj Mishra stated, “May their memories be a blessing, and may we come together to support one another in this time of grief.”
Adnan Master, 30, from Forest Hill, London, is also among the dead.
He had been visiting relatives with his wife and child, but is thought to have returned alone.
Javed Ali Syed, a hotel manager at the Best Western Kensington Olympia Hotel, died with his wife, Mariam, and their two young children, Amani (four) and Zayn.
Dhir and Heer Baxi, sisters who were in seats 17J and 17H when the plane crashed, had traveled to India for a family birthday.
Dhir, a fashion student, had spent time in Paris prior to their planned trip to Ahmedabad.
