Horror at Ahmedabad Airport: Air India Boeing 787 Crashes Near Terminal with 242 On Board

Directly after lifting off from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12, 2025, Air India Flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London Gatwick, plunged into a residential area in the Meghani Nagar neighborhood, bursting into flames.

Air India confirmed 242 souls were on board—230 passengers and 12 crew members, including nationals from India, the UK (53), Portugal (7), and Canada (1).

Voice recordings from air traffic control captured a Mayday call shortly after takeoff when the aircraft reached just 625 feet, signalling the onset of a crisis.

Images and videos show thick black smoke, fireball, and wreckage among collapsed buildings near a medical campus as emergency teams rushed in.

Prime Minister Modi and British PM Keir Starmer issued heartfelt condolences; Modi hailed the crash as “heartbreaking,” while Starmer offered Britain’s assistance to affected families.

India’s Civil Aviation Ministry and the DGCA have launched a joint probe, marking this as the first fatal hull loss of a Boeing 787 since its 2011 introduction, and grounding the aircraft type until more is known.

Captain Sumeet Sabharwal (8,200 hours) and First Officer Clive Kundar (1,100 hours) were at the controls of VT-ANB, the aircraft registered in 2014 after first flight in December 2013.

Thousands of lives hang in the balance—locals are trapped, survivors treated in city hospitals, and authorities brace for a disaster report that could reshuffle global aviation oversight.