Air India Plane Crashes in Ahmedabad Shortly After Takeoff

On Thursday, a catastrophic air disaster struck Ahmedabad when Air India Flight AI 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The flight, bound for London, carried 230 passengers and 12 crew members, totaling 242 souls on board. According to the Times of India, 241 perished in what is now the worst single-plane crash in Indian aviation history, with fears that the death toll on the ground may rise.

The Flight and Its Passengers

Flight AI 171 took off from Runway 23 at 1:39 PM, as confirmed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The aircraft was piloted by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a seasoned aviator with 8,200 hours of flying experience, assisted by First Officer Clive Kundar, who had 1,100 hours. The passenger manifest included 169 Indians, 53 British, 7 Portuguese, and 1 Canadian, reflecting the diverse group aboard the ill-fated flight.

The Crash

According to Flightradar24, an online flight tracking platform, the aircraft reached a mere 635 feet in altitude before encountering severe difficulties. Within 30 seconds of takeoff, it began losing altitude at a vertical speed of 475 feet per minute. The DGCA reported that the crew issued a Mayday call to Air Traffic Control (ATC) shortly after departure, signaling an emergency. Tragically, the plane struggled to gain height and crashed in the Meghaninagar area, near a hostel of the Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Medical College (BJMC).

The impact was devastating. Union Home Minister noted that the intense heat from 1.25 lakh liters of jet fuel ignited a fire that left virtually no chance of survival. The crash site, close to the BJMC hostel, caused significant injuries on the ground. Dr. Shyam Govind, an injured BJMC doctor, told The Telegraph, “My junior doctor and I have been injured. Thirty to forty undergraduate doctors too have suffered injuries, and one or two students are serious.”

Amid the tragedy, one miraculous survivor emerged: Viswashkumar Ramesh, seated in 11A, was found alive by police and is receiving treatment in a hospital.

The Aircraft

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner involved in the crash was delivered to Air India in January 2014, with its first flight recorded on December 14, 2013, per Flightradar24. Data from Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, indicates the aircraft had logged over 41,000 flight hours and completed at least 8,000 takeoffs and landings. Air India operated 34 Boeing 787s before the crash, out of 1,148 Dreamliner variants in service globally.

Response and Investigation

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu announced late Thursday that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) would lead a probe into the crash. Additionally, a high-level committee of experts has been formed to enhance aviation safety protocols. The investigation will aim to uncover the cause of the sudden loss of altitude and the failure to recover, which led to this unprecedented disaster.

A Nation Mourns

The crash of Flight AI 171 has left India and the global aviation community in shock. As families grieve and investigators begin their work, questions linger about what went wrong in those critical moments after takeoff. The sole survivor, Viswashkumar Ramesh, and the injured on the ground, including BJMC’s medical students and staff, serve as stark reminders of the human toll. The nation awaits answers as it mourns the 241 lives lost in this heartbreaking tragedy.