Pilot's 'tragic final words' on Air India flight suggest what went wrong as black box found

The pilot of the Air India plane was said to have issued a warning just moments before the disaster claimed the lives of all but one passenger on board.

Air India flight AI171 was London-bound when it departed from Ahmedabad airport on 12 June via the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

241 out of the 242 passengers and crew were killed when the plane crashed into the BJ Medical College hostel in Ahmedabad at 13.38 local time.

The airline confirmed there was only one survivor - British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh.

He was in seat 11A, next to one of the aircraft’s emergency exits.

Air India pilot's 'final words'

Sumeet Sabharwal was the captain of the Air India flight AI171 (Handout)

The pilot of the Air India crash reportedly warned that the plane was 'losing power', according to the London Evening Standard.

Sumeet Sabharwal and his co-pilot Clive Kundar were said to have cried 'mayday' as they lost altitude shortly after takeoff.

241 out of the 242 passengers and crew were killed when the plane crashed into the BJ Medical College hostel in Ahmedabad (Siddharaj Solanki/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Sabharwal reportedly warned that there was 'no thrust' and that he was 'unable to lift' less than 650ft in the air.

Flight Radar suggests that the aircraft lost contact just seconds into the 10-hour journey to London Gatwick Airport.

One of the two black boxes found on Air India plane

The pilot was said to have issued a warning just moments before the disaster (Mehmet Yaren Bozgun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

One of two black boxes belonging to the flight has reportedly been located, according to the Hindustan Times.

A black box is a small machine which records flight information and is built to withstand explosions and crashes.

It contains cockpit recordings, flight data and could help with figuring out what went wrong during the flight.

Only one survivor

Air India said the 'survivor is a British national of Indian origin' (Siddharaj Solanki/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

In a statement, Air India said: “The 12-year-old Boeing 787-8 aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1338 hrs, carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew.

“The aircraft crashed shortly after take-off. We regret to inform that, of the 242 aboard, there are 241 confirmed fatalities.

“The sole survivor is being treated in a hospital. The passengers comprised 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian national.

“The survivor is a British national of Indian origin.”

The British man, 40, who survived crash has 'no idea' how he escaped the aircraft, his relatives have said.

Outside the family home in Leicester, the brother of survivor Vishwash Kumar Ramesh said: “We were just shocked as soon as we heard it.

“I last spoke to him yesterday morning. We’re devastated, just devastated.

“He said I have no idea how I exited the plane.”

His brother, Nayan Kumar Ramesh, 27, told Sky News: “He video called my dad as he crashed and said ‘Oh the plane’s crashed. I don’t know where my brother is. I don’t see any other passengers. I don’t know how I’m alive, how I exited the plane’.”

Dr Dhaval Gameti, who treated Ramesh, added: “He was disorientated, with multiple injuries all over his body. But he seems to be out of danger.”