‘One of the darkest days in Tata Group’s history’: N Chandrasekaran to employees on Air India Flight 171 crash

Tata Sons chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said on Friday that the tragic crash of Air India’s flight AI 171 in Ahmedabad is “one of the darkest days in the Tata Group’s history”. He said this in a message to employees, a copy of which has been seen by Fortune India. The crash, which killed all but one passenger onboard, along with students at the BJ Medical College in the city, Chandrasekaran described as “incomprehensible”.

“This is a very difficult moment. What occurred yesterday was inexplicable, and we are in shock and mourning. To lose a single person we know is a tragedy, but for so many deaths to occur at once is incomprehensible,” reads Chandrasekaran’s message. “Words are no consolation right now, but my thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the people who died and were injured in the crash. We are here for them.”

Chandrasekaran also highlighted in his message that investigative teams from India, the U.K., and the U.S. have arrived in Ahmedabad to investigate the crash. “They have our full cooperation, and we will be completely transparent about the findings. We owe it to the families and loved ones, to our pilots and crew, and to you,” he added.

In his message, Chandrasekaran urged the employees to be patient until the findings of the investigation are concluded and published, as speculation on the reason why the plane crashed is rife.

“We witnessed an enormous loss of life yesterday. Why this routine flight turned into a calamity is something trained investigators will help us understand when their work is complete. Once we have verified facts, we will be transparent in our communication about how this tragedy took place.”

On Thursday, Chandrasekaran announced that the Tata Group will provide an ex-gratia amount of ₹1 crore to the next of kin of those who died in the air crash, along with providing complete coverage of all medical expenses for those who were injured in the crash. Additionally, the Tata Group will also support the reconstruction of BJ Medical College’s hostel, where the flight crashed.

The ill-fated flight had 230 passengers and 12 crew members on board. There were 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian national on the flight. Among those on board was Vijay Rupani, the former chief minister of Gujarat, who was flying to London to meet his family.