https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ne...medabad-Airport.html

By DAVID AVERRE
PUBLISHED: 04:58 EDT, 12 June 2025 | UPDATED: 06:10 EDT, 12 June 2025



An Air India flight bound for London Gatwick carrying 242 passengers and crew including 53 Britons has crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad Airport in the northwestern Indian state of Gujarat.

Air India flight 171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, careened back to earth in the densely populated Meghani area of the city just minutes after leaving the runway at 1:17pm local time.

Shocking images shared to social media showed chunks of the plane's fuselage and tail protruding from a demolished building.

Firefighters at the scene doused the smouldering piles of debris with their hoses as photos and videos taken by horrified residents in Meghani showed a huge plume of thick black smoke emanating from the crash site.

The cause of the crash is not yet known, but a video posted to social media appeared to show the plane descending in a controlled manner with a high nose angle and landing gear deployed.

It momentarily disappeared from view behind trees and buildings before a massive fireball erupted on the horizon.

Emergency services are en route to the scene in the hopes of finding survivors, but the scale of the damage displayed in early images suggests there are likely significant casualties.

Air India's flight manifest said there were 169 Indians, 53 Britons, one Canadian and seven Portuguese nationals on board the stricken jet.

The flight reportedly reached an altitude of just 625 feet before it began to descend, according to flight tracking service Flightradar 24, which declared the plane's transponder signal dropped just seconds after it left the runway.

'We received the last signal from the aircraft at 08:08:51 UTC, just seconds after take off,' it said.

India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation said the plane sent a mayday call moments before the crash.





Air India's Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran shared a heartfelt statement that read: '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. At this moment, our primary focus is on supporting all the affected people and their families.

'We are doing everything in our power to assist the emergency response teams at the site and to provide all necessary support and care to those impacted.'

Gatwick Airport subsequently confirmed the flight that was due to land at 18:25 today had crashed on departure.

Aviation expert Julian Bray told MailOnline: 'It's a Boeing Dreamliner that has gone down - not certain whether they've managed to get anybody off the plane.

'If it has indeed crash-landed and they can deploy the chutes out then they should be able to get people off in 90 seconds. I am aware there are fire appliances in attendance - this is a major incident.

'It is very disappointing that it is a Dreamliner as it is a state-of-the-art Boeing. We cannot rule out security issues. But this is all speculation on my part.'

Weather conditions were calm at the time of the accident with clear skies and a windspeed of just seven knots, or eight miles per hour.

Indian news agency ANI reported police sources had confirmed 242 people were on board the flight.

India's aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said in a statement: 'Shocked and devastated to learn about the flight crash in Ahmedabad. We are on 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. My thoughts and prayers are with all those on board and their families.'

Air India shared a brief statement in the wake of the disaster, writing on X: 'Flight AI171, operating Ahmedabad-London Gatwick, was involved in an incident today, 12 June 2025.

'At this moment, we are ascertaining the details and will share further updates at the earliest.'

Ahmedabad is the main city in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat.

Ahmedabad airport said it had suspended all flight operations with immediate effect following the incident this morning.

The last fatal plane crash in India was in 2020 and involved Air India Express, the airline's low-cost arm.

The airline's Boeing-737 overshot a 'table-top' runway at Kozhikode International Airport in southern India. The plane skidded off the runway, plunging into a valley and crashing nose-first into the ground.

Twenty-one people were killed in that crash.

The formerly state-owned Air India was taken over by Indian conglomerate Tata Group in 2022, and merged with Vistara - a joint venture between the group and Singapore Airlines – in 2024.

Tata said an emergency centre had been activated and a support team set up for families seeking information.

Today's tragedy is the latest in a string of disasters involving Boeing jets and comes just six months after a 737 crashed in South Korea, killing 179.

In October 2018, Boeing's Lion Air flight 610 plunged into the Java Sea shortly after takeoff from Jakarta, in Indonesia killing all 189 people on board.

Then, in March 2019, Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 crashed minutes after departing Addis Ababa, resulting in the deaths of 157 passengers and crew.

Wow. That's bad. I'll be amazed if anybody made it out of that alive .

I'm no aviation expert, but possible engine failure on takeoff? Does the 787 have enough power to climb on one engine when fully loaded?

quote:

Ahmedabad Airport

If departing NE, it crashed in a suburban area.
If SW, an urban area.

Odds are, more dead on the ground than from the plane.

It’s hard to tell for certain from the video, but it looks like the flaps aren’t deployed enough.

quote:

Originally posted by PowerSurge:
It’s hard to tell for certain from the video, but it looks like the flaps aren’t deployed enough.

This was my thought, as well.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:


I'm no aviation expert, but possible engine failure on takeoff? Does the 787 have enough power to climb on one engine when fully loaded?

The takeoff roll is dissected into various segments. As the speed increases, the reasons to reject the takeoff become fewer, then much fewer.

If continued on one engine, once high-speed is achieved, yes can safely do a more anemic takeoff with one engine. There are the handful of assumptions along the way, like properly flown, operating engine provides normal power are biggies.

It’s very early at this point. I saw mention of weak perimeter fencing at the airport, to the point where stray dogs could roam at times. I’m not saying nothing about that being any cause, but you never know.

Back to the take-off, engine power is checked early. A failure of an engine on takeoff is very noticeable, 3 seconds are allotted for Captain action. It could be both engines were degraded, it looked like the plane wasn’t producing ‘normal’ power.

Here’s another possibility, the 787 being very automated. It’s possible the crew inputted incorrect data into the setup for takeoff, it’s happened before. That could be programming the aircraft lighter than it actually is, then not catching it, or being very slow to react.

Just general musings, with a thorough investigation, it will become very clear what caused the accident.

You almost can’t start the takeoff roll with improper flaps set, that was the old days. This aircraft won’t let you do that.

And as we know, early information is often very inaccurate.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: sourdough44,

Gear down, flaps appear up, nose high attitude. Odd.

Takeoff without correct flaps is nigh impossible these days. Configuration warnings would occur as soon as the throttles were pushed up for takeoff.

It could be, as suggested, improper data entry into the FMS. The FMS is like the CPU in your computer - it runs everything. Data entry requires both pilots to verify accuracy before it is activated. One pilot enters it, the other verifies it.

The aircraft systems are designed to run in automated mode as first priority, e.g. autothrottles and autopilot. With incorrect data, the automation will do the wrong thing (as it is told to do). It can be intentionally overridden into manual-ish mode, though that sub-system still runs through its own computer controllers.

There is so much redundancy that it should be impossible for an electronic box failure to create an un-flyable airplane.

There's a long list of possibilities here, and they should have it figured out quickly.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:


I'm no aviation expert, but possible engine failure on takeoff? Does the 787 have enough power to climb on one engine when fully loaded?

Yes. It is a requirement for airline operations. Not so for private operations such as personal aircraft or most corporate operations.

The performance capabilities of each type are very carefully determined. That data is used to calculate a maximum takeoff weight for each flight, which considers the airport elevation, air temperature, wind, runway length, runway slope, and runway surface condition (dry, wet, snow, ice).

Thus each takeoff has its own maximum allowed weight.

That max TO weight assures a positive climb above obstacles in the flight path if an engine fails. The departure paths for each runway at every airport used by an airline have been surveyed and charted for this climb requirement.

There is a decision speed called V1 during the takeoff roll. Before that speed is reached, the takeoff is aborted if an engine fails (or other major problem arises such as cargo fire, etc). After V1 you continue the takeoff. After V1 there may not be enough remaining runway to stop the airplane if they aborted, so you are committed to fly once reaching V1.

The 787 should self-manage an engine failure quite well. The computers manage the running engine (and may attempt to automatically re-light the failed engine). The flight director will automatically adjust the target airspeed and display the correct pitch angle to fly for that speed. From a pilot perspective, you fly the same profile and follow the command bars for pitch and bank just like any normal takeoff. Gear up and flap retraction on the regular schedule. Autopilot ON per the profile. Other than more rudder input, the flying pilot does exactly what he always does until a safe altitude, when the checklists start.

The modern philosophy is to make this scenario as close to a normal takeoff and departure as possible. It is a pretty quiet and calm cockpit for the first few minutes until the checklists start. Then it gets busy, but deliberate and precise.

Emirates 407 was very similar to this one.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emirates_Flight_407

https://x.com/Vikasmakwana111/.../1933162059556159903

“In Flight Radar 24, after the Air India 787 reaches the hold short area, there is only one more datapoint remaining. This point shows the aircraft travelling at 174 knots of ground speed, at a barometric altitude of 625 feet. This is about 400 feet above the ground.

At that moment, the aircraft had a vertical speed of 896 feet per second. Approximately 4 minutes passed between this last datapoint and the previous point, when the aircraft was entering the runway at R4.” Link

Would 174kts be above stall speed for a 787? I believe winds were reports to be 7kts.

Per a quick search, stall speed for a 787 is between 145-160kts depending on model & configuration

145kts = 166mph
160kts = 184mph

The flaps look at about 5 on the video as the aircraft sinks to the ground, not up. Although that lazy sink profile is what I’d expect if someone pulled flaps up on a heavyweight jet just after takeoff. So perhaps early flap retraction?

Looking at GPS flight profile, my conclusion is catastrophic loss of lift after takeoff. Surely like every accident there will be a sequence of events leading up to this, but something caused it to stop climbing and start falling; as pedantic as it sounds that simple statement substantially narrows possible causes.

Edit: super clear video of the flight profile here
https://x.com/shivaroor/status...165937399648447?s=61

Watching reports about this on the news, said it is the first crash of a 787 since entering service in 2011. They said the pilot of this flight had 8000 hours experience and this particular aircraft was 11 years old.

Of course, many are already starting to point fingers at Boeing. Seems a bit premature to me when there is no info yet as to cause.

quote:

Originally posted by arabiancowboy:
The flaps look at about 5 on the video as the aircraft sinks to the ground, not up. Although that lazy sink profile is what I’d expect if someone pulled flaps up on a heavyweight jet just after takeoff. So perhaps early flap retraction?

Looking at GPS flight profile, my conclusion is catastrophic loss of lift after takeoff. Surely like every accident there will be a sequence of events leading up to this, but something caused it to stop climbing and start falling; as pedantic as it sounds that simple statement substantially narrows possible causes.

Edit: super clear video of the flight profile here
https://x.com/shivaroor/status...165937399648447?s=61

Wow. That video is amazingly peaceful, until it’s not.

quote:

Originally posted by sourdough44:
You almost can’t start the takeoff roll with improper flaps set, that was the old days. This aircraft won’t let you do that.

And as we know, early information is often very inaccurate.

You can if the plane is improperly configured in the first place.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:

quote:

Originally posted by arabiancowboy:
The flaps look at about 5 on the video as the aircraft sinks to the ground, not up. Although that lazy sink profile is what I’d expect if someone pulled flaps up on a heavyweight jet just after takeoff. So perhaps early flap retraction?

Looking at GPS flight profile, my conclusion is catastrophic loss of lift after takeoff. Surely like every accident there will be a sequence of events leading up to this, but something caused it to stop climbing and start falling; as pedantic as it sounds that simple statement substantially narrows possible causes.

Edit: super clear video of the flight profile here
https://x.com/shivaroor/status...165937399648447?s=61

Wow. That video is amazingly peaceful, until it’s not.

The lack of asymmetry on the flight profile is another intriguing clue. Whatever happened to cause loss of lift affected each side equally.

There’s a lot of things that could do it: bad gas creating dual engine rollback, brining flaps up instead of gear (gear retraction should’ve happened in the first few seconds after liftoff), someone intentionally shutting off both engines, etc. But the list of causes is already narrowing.

quote:

Originally posted by sourdough44:
You almost can’t start the takeoff roll with improper flaps set, that was the old days. This aircraft won’t let you do that.

You certainly can. Though the cockpit would be blaring with alarms.

[Cliff Clavin] Maybe the wheel well fire detection system wasn’t working requiring flying with the gear down for 10 minutes before retraction?[/Cliff Clavin]

Reason #5 to no longer fly.

It's funny...I spent nearly 20 years flying on helicopters and loved every minute of it until I didn't. You wouldn't get me on one nowadays unless it was an emergency. Same goes for small fixed wing and commercial. Thank you...no.