Air India Boeing 787 Crashes After Takeoff From Ahmedabad

An Air India Boeing 787-8 crashed into a residential area shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad Airport, India, on June 12, 2025, marking the first fatal accident involving the Boeing 787 Dreamliner since its entry into commercial service in 2011 with All Nippon Airways.

Images from the scene show thick black smoke rising over the Meghaninagar neighborhood, with the aircraft’s tail section protruding from a damaged building. Air India confirmed in a statement that Flight AI171, operating from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, was involved in the accident shortly after departure. According to India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the aircraft was carrying 242 people, including two pilots and 10 cabin crew members.

Air India stated that the injured were being transported to nearby hospitals. The flight manifest included 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, one Canadian, and seven Portuguese nationals.

The aircraft, registered VT-ANB, departed from runway 23 at 1:39 p.m. local time. The pilots issued a mayday call, but air traffic control received no further communication afterward, according to the DGCA.

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Boeing issued a preliminary statement: “We are aware of initial reports and are working to gather more information.”

Data from Flightradar24 indicates the Boeing 787 reached a maximum altitude of 625 feet before entering a descent with a vertical speed of minus 475 feet per minute. The final ADS-B signal was received at 08:08:51 UTC, mere seconds after takeoff. Video footage circulating on social media shows the aircraft failing to gain altitude, entering a high angle of attack, and crashing shortly thereafter.

Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu expressed his shock on social media platform X, confirming that emergency response teams were mobilized and rescue operations were underway to provide medical aid and relief.

According to Aviation Week’s Fleet Discovery database, VT-ANB was originally ordered by Air India in 2005, rolled out in 2010, and delivered in 2014. The aircraft, powered by GEnx-1B67 engines, had accumulated 39,450 flight hours and nearly 7,400 cycles.

Recent operational data shows that VT-ANB had been regularly flying long-haul routes. On the morning of the crash, it completed a 1.09-hour domestic flight from Delhi to Ahmedabad (AI423), having previously arrived from Paris earlier that same day.

As of mid-2025, there are an estimated 377 to 398 Boeing 787-8 aircraft in operation, with over 1,175 Boeing 787 Dreamliners of all variants (787-8, 787-9, and 787-10) flying worldwide. Approximately 1,189 Dreamliners have been delivered globally through 2025, with the fleet accumulating nearly 5 million flights and over 30 million flight hours.

Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, aviationweek.com, flightplan.forecastinternational.com