'Seen Many Crises, Nothing Like This’: Air India Chairman Chandrasekaran on Historic Plane Crash

'Seen Many Crises, Nothing Like This’: Tata Sons chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran shared that while he had witnessed many crises in his long professional life, the plane crash in Ahmedabad was the most "heartbreaking" crisis he has experienced.

Chandrasekaran made the comments during a meeting with Air India staff. He made the remarks a week ago after the plane crash occurred in the western city of Ahmedabad, which killed 241 of the 242 people on- board and arguably 29 people on ground. One of the passengers had a miraculous escape from the crash.

Also Read: Ahmedabad Filmmaker Feared Dead in Plane Crash Despite Not Boarding or Staying at Hostel

Air India made an announcement offering ₹25 lakh in interim relief payments for the family of victims on Saturday. Air India, in an announcement made by Air India CEO, and managing Director Campbell Wilson announced the aid was in addition to the ₹1 crore compensation announced a few days earlier by Air India for the victims of the incident.

'One of the darkest days in Tata Group's history'

In the aftermath of the incident, Tata Sons and Air India Chairman N Chandrasekaran urged employees to remain committed to the operation of the airline, referring to the plane crash as the most "heartbreaking" crisis in his life and career.

Speaking to almost 700 staff and the leadership team at the Air India headquarters and Air India Training Academy in Gurugram, Chandrasekaran said that employees must display strength and use this incident as a force to achieve a "safer airline".

Also Read: I Exploited Virat Kohli’s Weakness, But With Sachin I Didn’t: James Anderson Reveals ‘Most Difficult’ Choice

"We have to make sure that we stay the course. Be more determined in everything we do. We need to wait for the investigation to find out," the sources quoted Chandrasekaran as saying.

"I've seen a reasonable number of crises in my career, but this is the most heartbreaking one which I never thought I would see," the sources quoted Chandrasekaran as saying.

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner lost altitude less than a minute after take-off from the Ahmedabad airport and crashed into the BJ Medical College hostel.

Air India CEO Wilson had previously said, that family of the victims were also given access to appropriately trained caregivers, who according to him provided "dedicated support, counselling and other services".

He also stated that the airline teams were working with the authorities and the families to provide assistance and facilitate the repatriation process.

Also Read: R Ashwin, Dindigul Dragons Accused of ‘Blatant Ball Tampering’ in TNPL — TNPL CEO Demands Proof