An Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, flight AI171 bound for London Gatwick, crashed during take-off at Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12. The aircraft, which had 242 people onboard—including 230 passengers and 12 crew members—crashed near the Meghaninagar area just outside the airport perimeter shortly after take-off.
According to officials, the pilot issued a mayday call to Air Traffic Control at 1:39 pm, moments before the crash. The aircraft then lost contact and went down, erupting into a massive fireball. Visuals from the crash site show thick black smoke rising from the area, with emergency services rushing to contain the blaze.
Seven fire tenders were deployed to the site, and rescue efforts began immediately. Injured passengers have been moved to a nearby civil hospital for treatment. Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik confirmed the location of the crash and said that emergency operations are ongoing.
Fire officer Jayesh Khadia stated that fire services responded quickly to douse the flames after the aircraft caught fire upon impact.
Air India confirmed the incident in a post on X, stating:
“Flight AI171, operating Ahmedabad-London Gatwick, was involved in an incident today, 12 June 2025. At this moment, we are ascertaining the details and will share further updates at the earliest on airindia.com and on our X handle.”
Further details on casualties or the exact cause of the crash are still awaited. Investigations have been initiated, and updates are expected as rescue operations continue.
