The Fire Department believes the pilots of Air India flight AI 171 saved thousands of lives by making a critical decision within just 15 seconds — choosing to land the aircraft in an open green zone to minimise casualties.

A father of two who had traveled from the U.K. to India to spread his wife's ashes died in the Air India crash on June 12, leaving the couple's two daughters, ages 4 and 8, orphaned. Arjun Patoliya, 37,

An Air India plane crashed into a medical college in Ahmedabad, killing people on the ground and leaving a sole survivor on the flight. Authorities said 269 died.