Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashes after takeoff in India

Air India flight crashes after takeoff, kills 241 people

An Air India passenger plane carrying more than 200 people crashed on Thursday after taking off from an airport in the Indian city of Ahmedabad, and the airline has confirmed there was one survivor, despite a police official earlier saying it appeared there were none.

AHMEDABAD, India - An Air India Boeing Dreamliner passenger plane bound for London with more than 240 people on board crashed Thursday in India’s northwestern city of Ahmedabad, officials said, in one of India’s worst airline disasters in decades.

A single passenger survived the crash, according to a senior Indian official. The airline said there were no other survivors, and a local official put the latest death toll at 240, including some victims on the ground.

What we know:

Air India flight AI 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London's Gatwick Airport, crashed into a residential area called Meghani Nagar five minutes after taking off at 1:38 p.m. local time, Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, the director general of the directorate of civil aviation, told The Associated Press. 

There were 232 passengers and 12 crew members onboard the flight.

People gather at the site where Air India flight 171 crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025. The London-bound passenger plane crashed on June 12 in India's western city of Ahmedabad with 242 on board, aviation of

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Black smoke billowed from the site where the plane went down in a populated area near the airport in Ahmedabad, a city of more than 5 million and the capital of Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state.

Firefighters doused the smoking wreckage of the plane, which would have been fully loaded with fuel shortly after takeoff, and adjacent multistory buildings with water. Many charred bodies lay on the ground and one was carried away on a stretcher by first responders.

"The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating," British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement.

Firefighters work at the site where Air India flight 171 crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025. The London-bound passenger plane crashed on June 12 in India's western city of Ahmedabad with 242 on board, aviatio

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"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," Air India Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran wrote on X.

Boeing also released a statement Thursday morning. 

"We are in contact with Air India regarding Fgiht 171 and stand ready to supoort them. Our thoughts are with the passengers, crew, first responders and all affected," the company said. 

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