UAE, June 13th 2025: The last emergency signal or Mayday Call was heard from an Air India flight, at the same time when a painful accident occurred in Ahmedabad on 12 June 2025. This flight, operated by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner (VT-AB), Flight Number AI-171, carrying the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel name in Ahmedabad, crashed only a few minutes after taking off from the International Airport.
The aircraft had a total of 242 people on board, including two pilots and ten cabin crew members. (As of now), 204 people have died in this tragic crash, and the possibility of survival for the remaining passengers is extremely low.
What is a Mayday Call?
‘Mayday call’ is an emergency signal that is used in aviation and maritime services all over the world when a fatal situation is encountered. When an aircraft or ship faces deep trouble, its pilot or captain thrice says “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday,” indicating that the situation is extremely serious. After this, all communication channels are vacated so that the crew stuck in the crisis can seek help without any hindrance.
The term “Mayday” was started in the early 1920s by Frederick Stanley Mockford, Senior Radio Officer of Croydon Airport, England. The word is derived from the French language “M’Aider”, which means “Help me.” The word replaced the old Morse Code Signal SOS to send an alert through radio.
Who was in Command and What Went Wrong?
The aircraft was commanded by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who is considered a highly experienced pilot and has an 8,200-hour flight experience. He was accompanied by the first officer Clive Kundar, who had completed 1,100 hours of flying so far.
A few minutes after takeoff, the pilots sent a mayday call to Air Traffic Control (ATC), which made it clear that there was a serious technical fault in the aircraft. But after this call, when ATC tried to contact again, there was no response from the pilots. This silence was going to increase anxiety, and the possibility of an accident started deepening from here. This moment was very worrying, and this is where the situation became more critical.
What Happens After a Mayday Call?
Once a Mayday call is received, the frequency is cleared by ATC to allow emergency communication. The pilot shares key details such as the nature of the issue, location, and the number of people onboard. Rescue teams are immediately deployed to the suspected crash site. In the Ahmedabad plane crash, despite the call, the response window was heartbreakingly short.
A Heartbreaking Outcome Despite Protocol
The ‘Mayday call’ made by Air India pilots was one last attempt to save lives – it shows that they maintained their senses and courage even in the hour of crisis. But unfortunately, the accident happened so fast that the rescue team did not have time to react. The DGCA has started a thorough investigation into the Ahmedabad plane crash, and the black box is being recovered so that the real reason for the accident can be revealed.
This tragedy is not just an aviation accident, but also a bitter truth that sometimes a trained and international-level response like a ‘mayday call’ is not able to save the situation when everything is out of control. Despite this, the incident is proof of professionalism and courage that the flight crew performed till the last moment.
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