Air India junior pilot asked captain why he turned off fuel switches

NEW DELHI: A cockpit voice recording of doomed Air India Flight 171 indicates that it was the younger co-pilot who asked his more experienced colleague why he turned off the plane’s fuel-supply switches, according to people familiar with the matter. The information, from people who asked not to be identified because they’re not authoriSed to speak...

Iconic South Indian actress Saroja Devi passes away

NEW DELHI: Legendary south Indian actor B. Saroja Devi (pic) passed away, after battling age-related illness, at her residence in Bengaluru on Monday (July 14). She was 87 and is survived by two daughters and two sons. She was born on Jan 7, 1938. A towering figure in South Indian cinema, she had worked in over 200...

‘Bloody terrified’: Flying anxiety peaks in India after fatal Air India crash

BENGALURU (Reuters) -Retired Air Force officer Dinesh K. has seen a surge in demand for his $500 therapy course to help people overcome their fear of flying since Air India flight 171 crashed moments after take-off from Ahmedabad two weeks ago. Dinesh uses a combination of flight simulation and counselling at his Cockpit Vista centre for...

Air India cuts less than 5% of narrowbody jet routes, suspends two international flights

NEW DELHI: Air India said on Sunday (June 22) it is temporarily reducing less than five per cent of its narrowbody jet routes for "operational stability", its second such reduction following a plane crash earlier this month that killed all but one of the 242 people on board. The airline, reeling from the deadliest crash in...

Air India says plane ‘well-maintained’ before crash

NEW DELHI: Air India's Boeing plane was "well-maintained" before it crashed a week ago, killing all but one of 242 people on board, the airline said Thursday (June 19). Indian authorities are yet to detail what caused the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner to hurtle to the ground in the western city of Ahmedabad, where at least 38...

Death toll in Indian plane crash climbs to 270 as search teams find more bodies

AHMEDABAD, India (AP): Search and recovery teams continued scouring the site of one of India’s worst aviation disasters for a third day after the Air India flight fell from the sky and killed at least 270 people in Gujarat state, officials said Saturday. The London-bound Boeing 787 struck a medical college hostel in a residential area of the...

Ahmedabad police chief says ‘appears to be no survivor’ in India air crash

AHMEDABAD, (India): Police in the Indian city of Ahmedabad said no survivors were expected after a London-bound passenger plane with 242 on board crashed Thursday (June 12), warning of more deaths where the jet smashed down. "There appears to be no survivor in the crash," city police commissioner GS Malik told AFP. "And since the airplane has...

Pakistan says ceasefire with India to be extended to May 18 as truce holds

ISLAMABAD: The ceasefire between Pakistan and India will be extended to Sunday (May 18), a top official in Islamabad said, indicating the respite in fighting is holding after clashes this month brought the two nuclear-armed nations close to a full-blown war. Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar (pic) added in a speech to parliament on Thursday...

Trump wants Apple to stop moving iPhone production to India

US President Donald Trump said he’s asked Apple Inc’s Tim Cook to stop building plants in India, taking aim at the iPhone maker’s plans to diversify its manufacturing beyond China. "I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday,” Trump said of his conversation with the Apple chief executive officer in Qatar, where he’s on a...