THE pilot of Air India's doomed flight out of Ahmedabad issued a desperate mayday call moments before smashing into a doctors' hostel.
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal warned the plane was "losing power" just 11 seconds after lift-off - but could do nothing to avert the catastrophe.
The captain called out down his radio: "Mayday [...] no thrust, losing power, unable to lift".
The two pilots then wrestled for 17 seconds with the controls as the jet sank through the air before careening into the buildings below.
The cause of the crash is yet to be established.
Sabharwal had 22 years of experience and had racked up 8,200 in the air.
The plane had just a few hundred feet of altitude when the power apparently cut out, killing more Brits than any air disaster since 9/11.
Air India, the airline, confirmed on Thursday evening that just one person survived out of the 242 people on board.
He is reported to be a 40-year-old British dad, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh.
The plane was headed to London Gatwick with 232 passengers and 10 crew members when it crashed just seconds after take-off.
Police have said that at least 265 people were killed in the disaster, after locals on the ground were also crushed by the huge fuselage which exploded in a ball of flames.
Along with dozens of Brits, 169 Indian nationals, a Canadian and seven Portuguese travellers were also on board.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner lost contact just seconds after take-off, according to flight tracking website Flightradar.
A final alert was last logged less than a minute after it started the journey from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, only ever reaching an altitude of 625ft.
A terrifying video showed the moment the doomed Air India plane took off before crashing in a fireball while carrying 242 people.
Full harrowing CCTV footage was released capturing the Boeing 787 taking off before it beginning to sink.
The Brits onboard who died include a family-of-three, a mum-of-three with her grandson, a pair of sisters and a wellness business couple.
Names were emerging in a tragic drip-feed of information on Thursday evening.
A British family from Gloucester: recruitment consultant Akeel Nanabawa, 36, his wife Hannaa, 30, and their four-year-old daughter Sara, were killed.
A Facebook post from the Gloucester Muslim Community said: "We are profoundly heartbroken by the devastating loss of life. During this moment of overwhelming sorrow, our hearts go out to all those left behind."
Mum-of-three Raxa Modha, 55, of Wellingborough, Northants., and her two-year-old grandson, Rudra, also died on the flight.
Wellingborough mayor Raj Mishra said: "May their memories be a blessing, and may we come together to support one another in this time of grief."
Adnan Master, 30, from Forest Hill, London, is also amongst those who died.
He had been visiting relatives with his wife and child, but is believed to have been travelling back alone.
Javed Ali Syed, a hotel manager at the Best Western Kensington Olympia Hotel, died alongside his wife, Mariam, and their two young children, Amani, four, and Zayn.
