Air India flight bound for London crashes minutes after take-off

Emergency call made before Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashes in India.

An Air India aircraft bound for the United Kingdom crashed shortly after take-off from the western Indian city of Ahmedabad on Thursday. The incident occurred just minutes after departure, with the flight destined for London’s Gatwick Airport.

Air India announced on X that 242 passengers and crew members were on board the Boeing aircraft. Of these, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals.

Authorities have yet to confirm the number of casualties, and investigations are ongoing. Local police stated that the crash took place in a residential area close to the airport. Witnesses reported seeing the plane disappear from view shortly after lifting off, followed by a large fireball rising above nearby homes.

Footage broadcast on television showed fiery wreckage on the ground, with plumes of thick black smoke billowing into the air. Emergency personnel could be seen transporting injured individuals on stretchers and loading them into ambulances for medical attention. The situation caused considerable chaos and concern in the surrounding neighbourhood.

Disturbing videos have been circulating on Indian social media pages showing locals taking pictures of severed heads and burnt bodies of passengers at the crash site.

According to information from Ahmedabad airport’s air traffic control, the plane departed at 13:39 local time (08:09 GMT) from runway 23. Just moments after take-off, the pilot issued a “Mayday” distress call to indicate an emergency situation. However, communication from the aircraft ceased shortly thereafter.

The aviation tracking website Flightradar24 identified the jet as a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, registered as VT-ANB. This model is one of Boeing’s most advanced commercial aircraft and is widely used for long-haul flights. The final signal from the aircraft was recorded only seconds after it became airborne.

Air India took to social media to acknowledge the crash, stating that they were still collecting details and would provide updates when available. Boeing, the American manufacturer of the aircraft, has not yet issued a statement in response to the incident.

This tragedy marks the latest major accident involving an Indian airline. The last fatal crash took place in 2020, when an Air India Express Boeing 737 failed to stop on a rain-slick runway in Kozhikode. That aircraft skidded off the “table-top” runway and plunged into a valley, killing 21 people onboard.

While the current incident has reignited concerns about aircraft safety, particularly surrounding Boeing models, investigators will need time to determine the root cause of the accident. In the meantime, families of passengers and aviation authorities alike are left grappling with the devastating aftermath.