Air India Plane Crash in Ahmedabad Kills Over 200 People

An Air India plane destined for London crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, India, on Thursday, killing over 290 people, according to authorities. The flight carried 242 people and the crash marks the world’s deadliest aviation incident in a decade. The crash, which occurred minutes after departure, also claimed lives on the ground as the plane plummeted onto a medical college hostel during lunchtime. The intended destination of the flight was Gatwick Airport, located south of London.

Police confirmed at least one passenger survived. The survivor told Indian media that he heard a loud noise shortly after takeoff. “Approximately 294 have died. This includes some students as the plane crashed on the building where they were staying,” said Vidhi Chaudhary, a top state police officer, to Reuters. She said that police found one survivor in seat 11A, next to an emergency exit, and added that there could be more survivors in hospital.

Survivor’s Report On India Plane Crash

“Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed,” 40-year-old Ramesh Viswashkumar narrated, which showed a boarding pass for seat 11A in that name online. “It all happened so quickly,” he told the paper from his hospital bed. “When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me,” he said. “Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital.”

He also stated that his brother, Ajay, was on the plane. “He was travelling with me and I can’t find him anymore. Please help me find him,” he said. Ahmedabad police chief G.S. Malik stated that the recovered bodies could include passengers and people killed on the ground.

Former Chief Minister of Gujarat State Dead In India Plane Crash

Among the deceased was Vijay Rupani, the former chief minister of Gujarat state, where Ahmedabad is the primary city. State health secretary Dhananjay Dwivedi told reporters that relatives were asked to provide DNA samples to identify the victims. Debris from the plane was scattered around the smoldering remains of the building it crashed into, with the aircraft’s tail lodged atop the structure. A source told Reuters that the passenger manifest consisted of 217 adults, 11 children, and two infants.

Air India reported that 169 passengers were Indian nationals, 53 were Britons, seven were Portuguese, and one was Canadian. Aviation tracking site Flightradar24 identified the aircraft as a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, a modern passenger plane. The Aviation Safety Network database confirmed that this was the first crash involving a Dreamliner since it began commercial flights in 2011. Flightradar24 reported that the plane first flew in 2013 and was delivered to Air India in January 2014.

Crash Occurred Just After Takeoff

News channels displayed the plane taking off over a residential zone and then disappearing from the screen before a large fireball was seen rising into the sky from beyond the houses. “My sister-in-law was going to London. Within an hour, I got news that the plane had crashed,” Poonam Patel, a relative of one of the passengers, told news agency ANI at the government hospital in Ahmedabad.

According to air traffic control at Ahmedabad Airport, the aircraft departed at 1:39 p.m. (0809 GMT). It issued a Mayday call indicating an emergency, but subsequently, communication ceased. U.S. aerospace safety consultant Anthony Brickhouse noted that the aircraft’s landing gear being down during a phase of flight where it would typically be retracted was a concerning sign visible in videos of the aircraft.

“If you didn’t know what was happening, you would think that plane was on approach to a runway,” Brickhouse said. Boeing stated that it was in contact with Air India and working to gather more information. Boeing (BA.N) shares experienced a 5% decline as the crash posed a significant challenge for the planemaker as its new CEO aims to restore trust following a series of safety and production issues.

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Aircraft Engine Manufacturer To Analyze Cause Of Crash

Aircraft engine manufacturer GE Aerospace announced it would assemble a team to travel to India to analyze cockpit data. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board stated it would lead a team of U.S. investigators to India to assist in the investigation. The British Foreign Office reported that Britain was working with Indian authorities to urgently gather facts surrounding the crash and provide support to those affected.

“The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X. “It is heartbreaking beyond words.” Gujarat is Modi’s home state. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that the images emerging from the crash were “devastating,” and a Buckingham Palace spokesperson stated that King Charles was being kept informed. India’s First Crash Since 2020 Ahmedabad Airport, which temporarily suspended all flight operations following the crash, announced it was operational again but with limited flights.

The airport is operated by India’s Adani Group conglomerate. The last fatal plane crash in India, the world’s third-largest and fastest-growing aviation market, occurred in 2020 and involved Air India Express, the airline’s low-cost arm. The airline’s Boeing 737 overshot a “table-top” runway in southern India, skidded, and plunged into a valley, crashing nose-first into the ground and resulting in 21 fatalities. The formerly state-owned Air India was acquired by Indian conglomerate Tata Group in 2022 and merged with Vistara, a joint venture between the Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, in 2024.

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