An Air India plane, flight AI-171, crashed just five minutes after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad. The flight was heading to Gatwick, UK. The aircraft was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. There were 242 people on board—232 passengers and 10 crew members, including two pilots.
The crash happened near Meghaninagar, inside the BJ Medical College premises. The area has several five-floor residential buildings that were damaged. Many people living in those buildings were injured due to the crash and the fire that followed. Thick black smoke could be seen coming from the crash site.
The pilots onboard were Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kundar. Together, they had 9,300 hours of flying experience—Sabharwal had 8,200 hours and Kundar had 1,100 hours. The pilots had sent a ‘Mayday’ emergency call soon after take-off, but it reportedly did not receive a response from the Air Traffic Control (ATC).
The cause of the crash is still not known. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will look into the matter. Its Director General and Director of Investigation are traveling to Ahmedabad for the probe.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been informed about the situation and has ordered rescue and relief efforts. The airport, which was shut down for a short time after the crash, is now open again.
This is the first fatal accident involving a Boeing 787 aircraft. More updates are expected as the investigation continues.
Videos and eyewitness accounts show the serious damage caused by the crash and fire, both to the aircraft and the buildings around the site.
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