India has witnessed a horrible aviation accident.
Air India Flight AI171, on a flight Ahmedabad-London Gatwick has crashed barely after takeoff -leaving behind trails of thick black smoke and a shocked global aviation fraternity.
The Indian authorities said the jet was carrying 242 people, 232 passengers and 12 crew members. The airline said that there were 53 British nationals on board the Air India flight at the time of crash.
The plane crashed in a residential district that is very densely populated called Meghani Nagar, outside Ahmedabad Airport in Gujarat, Indian Civil Aviation Director General Faiz Ahmed Kidwai told the Associated Press.
Flight tracking site Flightradar24 as well as Sky News reported that the jet lost contact seconds after taking off. Sky News reported that the dreadful event happened at about 1:38 p.m. local time. In several minutes, the emergency services arrived at the scene, and huge columns of smoke identified the place of the crash.
A great wake of smoke
Disturbing photos and videos shared on social media demonstrate the debris all over the buildings, and parts of the plane fuselage and tail can be seen among the rubbles.
Indian Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu was quick to react as he stated: I am personally overseeing the situation and have asked all aviation and emergency response agencies to act fast and in a coordinated manner. The rescue teams have been put into action and everything is being done to see that medical aid and relief support is being hurried to the area. I am thinking and praying of all the people on board and their families.”
Videos are going around on social media, purporting to be of the Air India plane crash.
Gatwick-bound plane crashes in India with 242 on board
Follow the latest ⬇️https://t.co/P2crOfS2Ul pic.twitter.com/KGJkxDBpY5
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) June 12, 2025
Air India chairman N. Chandrasekaran made the following grim statement:
It is with deep regret that I daily confirm that Air India flight, AI171 operating Ahmedabad London Gatwick has met with a tragic accident today. We are thinking and also send our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of everyone affected by this tragic incident. Our main concern at the present point is taking care of all the people who are affected and their families.
We are also trying our level best to help the emergency response teams on the site and largely give all the needed support and care to the affected. We will continue to update this shooting range as we get more confirmed details. A crisis centre has been opened and family support units established.”
A Boeing 787 dreamliner
Gatwick Airport further confirmed that the flight AI171 was scheduled to land at 6:25 p.m. local time in the UK but admitted that the crash had happened during take off in India.
Julian Bray, an aviation expert, said Daily Mail:
It is a Boeing Dreamliner which has crashed–not clear as yet whether they have been able to evacuate anyone from the aircraft. Well, suppose it has–crash-landed, you know, and they can get the chutes out–then they can get people out in 90 seconds. I know that fire appliances are on the scene- this is a major. The fact that it is a Dreamliner is very disappointing because it is a state of the art Boeing. Security problems are not unlikely. all which is conjecture on my part.”
The cause of the crash is still under investigation, despite the fact that it was reported that weather conditions were clear and there was light wind at the time of the crash. There are still no officially confirmed deaths, however, the extent of the damage caused as judged by the initial images indicates the possibility of a substantial number of victims.
The accident is just another disaster in a series of events that have occurred in recent years involving Boeing jets. Lion Air flight 610 in 2018 took 189 lives in Indonesia and Ethiopian Airlines crash took 157 lives in 2019.
X: Air India made a short announcement:
Ahmedabad-London Gatwick, Flight AI171 had an incident today, 12 June 2025. We are currently establishing the facts and will update more as soon as possible.