AIR INDIA AI-17 CRASH ONE OF THE RAREST IN RECENT AVIATION HISTORY - EXPERTS

5 dead at medical students' hostel where plane crashed

- By DARSHANA SANJEEWA BALASURIYA

The Air India crash which claimed over 250 lives in Ahmedabad yesterday is one of the rarest in aviation history as initial investigations revealed that the crash may have been due to dual engine failure, aviation experts said.

By last evening, aviation experts said that the probability of both engines failing together was one in a billion flying hours which is one of the rarest of rare crashes ever in aviation history.

The flight, Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which went down shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad airport was carrying 242 people, including 232 passengers and 10 crew members, and was enroute to London.

Among the passengers on board on Thursday were 53 British nationals, 169 Indian nationals, one Canadian national and seven Portuguese nationals.