Air India Boeing 787-8 flight to London Gatwick crashes in Ahmedabad

An Air India flight to London Gatwick crashed in Ahmedabad in western India shortly after take-off from the city's airport today with 242 people on board.

Image: Air India

Air India said that those onboard the Boeing 787-8 aircraft included 169 Indian nationals, as well as 53 British citizens, seven Portuguese and one Canadian. There were also 10 cabin crew and two pilots.

According to data from Flightradar24, the aircraft was scheduled for a 07:50 UTC takeoff. It rotated off the runway, at around 08:09, and signal was lost less than a minute later.

Data shows the aircraft climbed to a maximum altitude of 625 feet before descending at a rate of approximately 475 feet per minute.

"Flight AI171, operating Ahmedabad-London Gatwick, was involved in an incident today, 12 June 2025,” an Air India spokesman said in a statement on X. “At this moment, we are ascertaining the details and will share further updates at the earliest.”

Union Civil Minister Ram Mohan Naidu wrote on X that he is “shocked and devastated to learn about the flight crash in Ahmedabad. We are on the highest alert. I am personally monitoring the situation and have directed all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action. Rescue teams have been mobilised, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support are being rushed to the site.”

The incident marks the first time a Boeing 787 has crashed, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.

Aviation Week Network’s Fleet Discovery shows VT-ANB was ordered by Air India in 2005 and rolled out in 2010 but delivered only four years later. It is powered by GEnx-1B67 engines. The aircraft has flown 39,450 hours and close to 7,400 cycles.

According to Flightradar24 data, the aircraft has been in routine long-haul rosters over the past few weeks. It had performed a 1.09 hour flight from Delhi to Ahmedabad (AI423) the morning before it departed as AI171. It had arrived from Paris at 1.34 a.m. on June 12.