An Air India flight, bound for London, crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad, on June 12, 2025.
Air India flight 171, operated by a 787-8 aircraft, was carrying 242 passengers and crew when it departed from Ahmedabad in the northwest of India at 13:38 local time. On board were 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, one Canadian national and seven Portuguese nationals, the airline confirmed.
Flight 171 was expected to land at London's Gatwick Airport at 18:25 local time.
Video footage posted on social media shows the plane, with its landing gear down, descending into a residential area near the airport. The plane then disappears from view before a large explosion is heard and seen, with plumes of black smoke billowing from the crash site.
Ahmedabad's police chief has said that 204 bodies have been recovered from the crash site, local media has reported. It is currently not known if all 204 casualties were on board the plane, or if some were on the ground when the plane crashed.
A senior police officer in Ahmedabad told the ANI news agency that the London-bound plane crashed into a doctors' hostel, an accommodation for local medical professionals. He noted that police, firefighters and other civic workers reached the spot within minutes. India’s Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) added that some 50 to 60 students studying medicine were taken to hospital after the Air India flight crashed into the' hostel.
Data from Flightradar24 shows that the last signal from the aircraft was when it was at 625 feet, with a ground speed of 174 knots, just seconds after taking off. The plane then started to descend with a vertical speed of -475 feet per minute.
In a statement posted on X, Air India's chairman, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, said: “With profound sorrow I confirm that Air India Flight 171 operating Ahmedabad London Gatwick was involved in a tragic accident today. Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event."
The Tata Group, the majority shareholders of Air India, announced that the company will provide ₹1 crore to the families of each person who has lost their life, this is equivalent to around $116,000. The group will also cover the medical expenses of those injured, while providing support for rebuilding the medical hostel that was hit.
More information has also emerged surrounding the aircraft that was involved, with data provided by Cirium detailing that the plane, with the registration VT-ANB, was delivered to Air India on January 28, 2014. It is 11.5 years old and was manufactured in Seattle. The plane had a total of 18 business class seats and 238 in the economy cabin.
Air India had 34 787 aircraft in service at the time of the incident, including this aircraft. The airline has an additional 20 787 on order and letter of intent for options an additional 24 aircraft.
“We are in contact with Air India regarding Flight 171 and stand ready to support them. Our thoughts are with the passengers, crew, first responders and all affected," said Boeing in a statement.
This is the first time Boeing’s 787 has been involved in an incident such as this. Launched 14 years ago, the global 787 fleet consists of 1,148 aircraft.
All flights from Ahmedabad have now resumed after they were earlier suspended following the crash.