ALL the passengers board the AI171 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft — 241 of the 242 passengers and crew – died after the aircraft crashed 36 seconds after takeoff from the Sardar Vallabhai Patel Airport in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025. The aircraft lost power and in slow motion crashed at lunch-time into in a residential colony, which also houses part of the BJ Medical College & Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad. The Air India flight No171 was headed for Gatwick Airport in London, UK. The ghastly crash happened within seconds of the take-off with pilot Sumeet Sabharval sending out a Mayday call to the air traffic controller.
The 11-year-old air craft climbed 425 feet before breaking up into a ball of fire upon striking ground. Compounding the aircraft deaths several of the senior residents and students having lunch at the lunch at the BJ Medical College Hostel mess were also killed. Ironically, the only passenger who survived Vishwash Kumar Ramesh who was seated across the aisle on seat No11J located next to the front emergency exit. Ramesh reportedly took the risk of jumping out of the emergency door. Video clips show him stumbling through the debris of the plane shouting when the plane exploded. His brother seated opposite him did not survive.
This is the first ever crash of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner after 8,000 successful takeoffs and landings. The 787 Dreamliner is a huge double-decker aircraft. We have travelled in the inaugural flight of the Dreamliner during a special flight organised for the media way back in 2011 when it was first introduced in India. However, this is the biggest civilian air disaster in the aviation history of the country. Air India Chairperson Chandrashekar has announced a compensation of Rs1 crore for each of the dead passenger’s family. Noel Tata, who succeeded Ratan Tata as the chairman of the Tata Trust, mourned the death of the passengers. The flight list had 169 Indians, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese and a Canadian.
Among those killed was former Chief Minister of Gujarat Vijay Rupani. Last heard off the Casualty ward of the medical college was involved in conducting DNA tests to enable relatives to identify the bodies of their loved ones.
It is not yet known what caused this mindboggling air flight tragedy. Though there is speculation that the aircraft suffered a double engine failure due to possible blockage of the fuel. The pilot, co-pilot and bulk of the crew members of the aircraft were from Mumbai.