Sawt Falasteen - Air India says plane 'well-maintained' before crash

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 people were also left dead.

As investigators attempt to retrieve data from the plane's black boxes -- the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder -- the airline said that no problems were detected with the jet before the disaster.

"The plane was well-maintained, with its last major check in June 2023," Air India said in a statement.

"Its right engine was overhauled in March 2025, and the left engine was inspected in April 2025. Both the aircraft and engines were regularly monitored, showing no issues before the flight," the airline said.

The London-bound jet burst into a fireball when it smashed into a residential area of Ahmedabad moments after takeoff.

Initial checks since the crash on Air India's Dreamliners "did not reveal any major safety concerns", the country's civil aviation regulator said Tuesday.

Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian on board the flight, as well as 12 crew members.

The airline on Thursday said the pilots were accomplished flyers.

"The flight was led by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a highly experienced pilot and trainer with over 10,000 hours flying widebody aircraft," it said.

"First Officer Clive Kunder, had over 3,400 hours of flying experience."

While investigators try to piece together what went wrong, families of dozens of victims are still waiting for their loved ones to be identified.

As of Thursday, 210 victims have been identified through DNA testing, state health minister Rushikesh Patel said.

C.Hamad--SF-PST