Leeds-based ITN Productions will tell the extraordinary story of the sole survivor of the Air India Flight 171 crash in a major new documentary for Channel 5.
The fast-turnaround 60-minute special, Air India Disaster: What Really Happened?, is being produced by ITN Productions, with teams in Leeds, London and Ahmedabad working at pace to piece together the catastrophic chain of events.
The documentary will centre on Vishwash Kumar Ramesh – dubbed “the miracle passenger” – who defied the odds to survive after the aircraft went down less than a minute after take-off from Ahmedabad. Ramesh, seated in 11A near the emergency exit, was the only survivor among 241 passengers and crew.
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The film will explore how and why he survived, drawing on testimony from Ramesh himself, speaking from his hospital bed, alongside expert aviation analysis and scrutiny of Boeing’s safety record in the wake of the tragedy.
Caroline Short, Head of UK Factual for ITN, said: “There is huge public interest in understanding what went wrong and, crucially, who should be held accountable for the fatalities in this tragedy – and it was therefore vital for us to have a team on the ground in Ahmedabad to tell the most comprehensive version of events so far.
“While we’re moving at pace, duty of care remains paramount to us as ever – and we’re taking every step to treat the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives with the utmost sensitivity and respect.”
Federico Ruiz Commissioning Editor at 5, said: “The world watched in horror as flight AI 171 went down. There’s not a single person out there who doesn’t sympathise with the poor victims of this terrible tragedy, and we are all desperate to know what really happened.
“We are on the ground in India trying to uncover the truth, as investigators race to piece together the disastrous chain of events, and try to avoid another catastrophe.”
Air India Disaster: What Really Happened? is an ITN Production commissioned by Federico Ruiz for 5. Executive producers are Caroline Short and Andy Dunn; producer is Supriya Sobti; edit producers are Oli Price, Dan Smith and Kim Lomax; and programme manager is Rusen Boztas. Post production is in-house at ITN Post.
