An Air India plane carrying 242 passengers exploded in a fireball when it crashed this afternoon. The Boeing 787 bound to London, had taken off at 1:17 pm and was due to land at Gatwick Airport at 6pm local time. But just minutes into flight, the aircraft lost altitude and descended into a residential area. Emergency services are making their way to the scene in the hopes of finding survivors. The cause of the crash is unknown, and the scale of the damage suggests there are likely to be heavy