Pilot declared "mayday" seconds after takeoff

India's Civil Aviation Ministry revealed on Saturday that the pilot of Air India Flight AI171, which crashed with 242 people on board, declared an emergency " Mayday " seconds after takeoff, and that the aircraft crashed almost exactly one minute later.

In the Indian government's first official statement since Thursday's crash, Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha gave a minute-by-minute account of the flight's final moments.

“The plane took off at 1:39 pm local time and within seconds, after reaching an altitude of about 650 feet (almost 200 meters), it began to sink, that is, to lose altitude,” Sinha said.

The official added: “At 1.39 pm, the pilot informed Air Traffic Control (ATC) in Ahmedabad that it was a ‘ Mayday ’.”

According to the secretary, when ATC tried to contact the plane again, after the emergency call, they received no response.

“Exactly one minute later, at 1:40 pm, the plane crashed in Meghaninagar, an area located about two kilometers from the airport,” he added.

The ministry also confirmed that 242 people were on board the plane: 230 passengers, two pilots and 10 crew members.

Regarding the previous condition of the aircraft, the secretary informed that, before the accident, the plane had flown the Paris-Delhi-Ahmedabad route without incident.

The death toll from the Air India flight AI171 tragedy has risen to more than 270, 241 of whom were passengers on board the plane, a police source directly involved in the rescue efforts told EFE.

This total includes passengers and crew, as well as residents who died on the ground.