Prime Highlights

• An Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft crashed immediately after taking off from Ahmedabad to London.
• 242 passengers on board, including crew and foreign nationals, are estimated to have lost their lives.

Key Facts

• Flight AI171 lost contact a few minutes after it took off.
• Planes crashed in residentially populated areas near Meghani Nagar, Ahmedabad.

Key Background

On 12th June 2025, a tragic air crash took place in Ahmedabad when Air India Flight AI171, which was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed after mere seconds of takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The flight was to resume its journey to London Gatwick with 230 individuals and 12 crew members onboard.

The plane departed at approximately 1:38 PM IST and later suffered technical distress, calling out for Mayday after going off the radar with a height of less than 700 feet. Locals of nearby Meghani Nagar, a very dense residential area outside airport limits, soon heard utter their words in regard to a blinding boom and heavy black smoke.

Eye witnesses portrayed a horrific view of flames and ruins with people going towards the accident site to provide assistance. Fire fighters, National Disaster Response Force teams, and police officials rushed to the scene and began rescue and containment operations. Even after efforts were being made at the right moment, the populated residential colony was immensely devastated and there are no survivors found from the ruins until now.

The in-flight manifest included Indian citizens, British, Portuguese, and Canadian. The aircraft involved, tail number VT-ANB, was one of Air India’s long-haul fleet and had no prior mechanical problems prior to this flight. The crash is the first serious one for a Boeing 787 Dreamliner since it went into commercial operation.

DGCA and AAIB have opened a wide investigation in the aftermath. Ahmedabad Airport operations are suspended for the moment. Prime Minister and Ministry of Civil Aviation have extended deepest condolences and assigned countrywide resources to be put into use for relief. Air India has put its helpline in emergency mode to be approached by families of passengers and crew.

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