An Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner carrying 242 passengers and crew crashed into a residential area of Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff for London Gatwick.
Flight AI171 lost contact with air traffic control at just 625 feet altitude according to Flightradar24 data, plunging into a medical staff housing complex near Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. Eyewitnesses reported hearing multiple explosions before the aircraft struck buildings in a fiery descent around 6:30 AM local time.
International Passenger Manifest Revealed
Air India confirmed the flight carried 169 Indian nationals, 53 British citizens, seven Portuguese travelers and one Canadian passenger along with 12 crew members.
The airline has established emergency response centers at both Ahmedabad and Gatwick airports, where distraught family members are awaiting confirmation about their loved ones. Britain’s Foreign Office has deployed crisis teams to assist families of the UK passengers.
In a remarkable tale of survival, local resident Priya Mehta described how her 22-year-old son escaped by leaping from a second-floor window as the plane tore through their building.
“The explosion threw him clear just before the fire spread,” Mehta told BBC reporters at the civil hospital where dozens of injured residents are being treated.
At least 18 ground casualties have been reported in the densely populated neighborhood that took the full impact of the crashing aircraft.
Aviation Experts Analyze Possible Causes
Early speculation from aviation safety specialists focuses on potential catastrophic engine failure in the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 powerplants. The same engine model has faced previous airworthiness directives regarding compressor stall risks.
Investigators from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau are urgently examining the crash site, though recovery efforts are complicated by the intense fires that burned for hours after impact.
At the time of filing this news report, the he International Air Transport Association has issued a safety alert to all Dreamliner operators worldwide as a precautionary measure.
This marks the first fatal crash involving Air India since 2010 and the deadliest aviation disaster on Indian soil in over a decade. The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch is dispatching a team to assist Indian authorities given the flight’s London destination and significant British casualties.
Air India CEO Campbell Wilson is expected to address the media tomorrow morning as the airline cancels all Dreamliner flights pending inspections.
