A London-bound Air India flight carrying more than 240 people crashed shortly after takeoff in the Indian city of Ahmedabad.
The crash happened on Thursday, June 12, just five minutes after Air India flight AI 171 left Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1:38 p.m. local time. According to Indian aviation officials, the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner went down in Meghani Nagar, a residential area near the airport. The plane was headed for Gatwick Airport in London.
Local TV footage showed heavy smoke rising from the wreckage and firefighters spraying water on the burning plane and nearby buildings. The aircraft had been fully loaded with fuel, and visuals from the site showed charred bodies and damaged homes.
The airline confirmed there were 242 people on board, including passengers and crew. Among them were 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian. However, Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, director general of India’s civil aviation authority, said the total number on board was 244. It was not immediately clear why there was a difference in numbers.
India’s Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said emergency teams were working at the site to provide medical aid and other support. Air India’s chairman, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, said the airline had set up an emergency center to assist families of the victims. “Our primary focus is on supporting all the affected people and their families,” he posted on social media.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the incident "devastating," adding that many British nationals were believed to be among the passengers. U.K. Cabinet Minister Lucy Powell also assured Parliament that the British government would provide full support to affected families, both in the U.K. and India.
The Boeing 787, also known as the Dreamliner, is a widebody, twin-engine aircraft introduced in 2009. This is the first recorded crash of this model, according to the Aviation Safety Network. Boeing said it was aware of the crash and is gathering more information.
India's last major plane crash occurred in 2020, when an Air India Express flight skidded off a runway, killing 21. The country’s worst air disaster remains the 1996 midair collision that claimed 349 lives.
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