New Delhi, June 15 -- Just moments before the Air India flight 171 plunged into the residential quarters of a medical college in Meghaninagar killing 270 people (on board and on ground), senior pilot Captain Sumit Sabharwal sent a brief distress call to the Ahmedabad Air Traffic Control (ATC) at 1.39 pm. The message, lasting only five seconds, captures the terror unfolding in the cockpit. In the audio, the pilot can be heard saying: "MAYDAY. MAYDAY. MAYDAY. NO POWER. NO THRUST. GOING DOWN." Mayday is an internationally recognised distress call used in radio communication.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation on Saturday detailed how the incident took place on Thursday afternoon. In a press conference, Samir Kumar Sinha, the aviation ministry s...