The sound isn’t great, really, and jets can sound different depending on where you’re standing and what’s around you to direct sound.
If the engines were powerful enough to get it off the ground, why would they fail immediately upon takeoff? It’s very strange.
Trump has weighed in, calling it “one of the most worst crashes in aviation history.” (sic)
On another site there was a picture what appeared to show the Ram Air Turbine was deployed. It is a small wind-powered blade generator that pops out of the belly when main generator power is lost. It makes quite a loud bang when it deploys.
This is helpful: “Experts speculate that it could have been caused by engine trouble or other mechanical issues.”
I’ve been reading articles about this and I haven’t seen anything about communication between the plane and the control tower during the takeoff and (gulp) crash. Is there any info on that?
Only that a mayday was issued.
Ironically, it probably wasn’t a problem with the engines. The chance of both engines failing at the same time is incredibly slim. Both engines failing together points to something like fuel contamination.
Or a bird ingestion. Apparently that’s a quite ‘bird-y’ airport.
A passenger that was on that plane for the inbound flight posted a series of videos of all the broken things on the plane. I recognize that malfunctioning entertainment systems and non-working AC don’t mean much as far as the engines and flight controls are concerned, but that the person thought the plane was janky enough to post about it before the crash is interesting.
Wow. I guess everything happened so fast. Maybe there was something more but it hasn’t been released yet?
Yeah, bird strikes would do it, if a large flock got sucked into both engines.
FWIW
Somewhat informed speculation about a RAT employment implies catastrophic failure of both engines and most power systems as the the RAT is automatically employed to provide bare essential control.
It fits with the bang the one survivor heard ( RAT deployment), lack of landing gear retraction, lack of sound of a fully loaded 787 in take-off power mode( loud) and uncertain flap and slot configuration.
The RAT is noisy and audible which appears to be the case - crew in barely controllable glider 675’ above airport verge…incredible the guy WALKED away from it. 
B/Law is Qantas captain and he confirm one engine out would still allow the plane to fly…it has that much power but both out = crash.
This would also fit with multiple bird strikes scenario noted above but seems nothing in the better videos can be seen.
That would certainly be a situation for automatic RAT deployment
No handy Hudson River to glide to.
Small update apparently Mayday said “no thrust, plane not taking lift.”’
Grim milestone: If it’s confirmed this one guy is the lone survivor, that’ll exceed the previous record by a pretty wide margin.
Incredible that he walked out under his own power.
Very lucky survive. He was in the best seat to exit quickly
Hard to refute the video evidence, he had his flight pass
Looking at some of the video it’s clear the plane took off under power as you can see the dust plumes off the tarmac…then they stop and the plane starts to sink.
I do wonder about this survivor. I hope it’s not some guy who stole the identity of one of the dead passengers. I’ve seen some elaborate scams in India!
A good Youtube video by VAS Aviation:
Seriously stupid comment. 
Regarding the sole survivor, on All Things Considered, they said that he climbed out and then called his family back in London. That must have been one amazing call. “Yeah, my plane crashed but I’m okay.” Sadly, though, his brother was seated next to him and apparently didn’t survive.
His brother was not seated next to him but elsewhere near by.
Sorry; that’s what NPR reported.