An Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner departing for London has crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad airport. Early reports have suggested that there were an estimated 244 people on board, with 232 passengers and 12 crew.
It is not yet known what might have caused the crash, and nothing has been confirmed yet about whether or not there are any survivors.
Initial Reports Air India Flight AI171
- A scheduled passenger service bound for London has crashed shortly after take-off in Ahmedabad, western India
- More than 250 people are believed to be on board
- The aircraft appears to have crashed in a residential area in the vicinity of Ahmedabad Airport (AMD)
- Signal was lost seconds after take-off when the aircraft had reached 625 feet, according to data on AirNav Radar.
- India’s aviation minister says rescue teams have been mobilized.
- The aircraft that has crashed is VT-ANB
Flight AI171 Ahmedabad-London Gatwick
The Air India Flight AI171 was bound for London Gatwick Airport (LGW) and it is understood to have crashed at around 08:08 am UK GMT+1 time this morning while departing Ahmedabad.
London Gatwick airport have released a confirmation statement on the crash Via X earlier today, but currently no more information is available to be shared.
https://twitter.com/Gatwick_Airport/status/1933090677627228239?t=m-HJ2fkkHl1h4VQlaG-wmw&s=19
Early video footage surfacing on social media shows the moment of the crash of Air India flight AI171 in Ahmedabad. Footage shows the aircraft struggling to gain altitude just after departure.
Update 10:00 UTC
Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, Chief of India’s Directorate of Civil Aviation, has told the Associated Press that the aircraft crashed into a residential area called Meghani Nagar. the aircraft involved is a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, registered VT-ANB. This is an 11.5 year old widebody aircraft belonging to the national carrier Air India.
The aircraft has been in operational service with the airline since its initial delivery from the factory in January 2014.
Air India has now provided the breakdown of the different nationalities on-board flight AI171. The flight was carrying 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, one Canadian national and seven Portuguese nationals.
Reports are coming though of injured being taken to hospital.
Flight crew reportedly made a ‘Mayday’ call to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) immediately after take-off, but there was no further repose from the aircraft to calls.
Update 15:12 UTC
Chief Executive of Air India Campbell Wilson has taken to X posting a video to express his “deep sorrow” follow the crash of Air India Flight AI171.
This is a difficult day for all of us at Air India and our efforts now are focused entirely on the needs of our passengers, crew members, their families and loved ones.”
said Campbell Wilson, Air India Chief Executive.
Tata Group to compensate crash victims’ families
The Tata Group, which owns Air India, says it will give 1 crore rupees – the equivalent of around £86,000 – to the families of each person who was killed in the crash.
It will also cover the medical expenses of those injured and provide support for rebuilding the medical hostel that was hit.
“No words can adequately express the grief we feel at this moment,” it says in a statement posted on X.
This is a developing story. We will provide further updates as they become available.