A Boeing Dreamliner plane bound for London with 242 people aboard crashed moments after takeoff on Thursday from Ahmedabad in western India. Casualties were reported.
“It appears there are no survivors in the plane crash,” G.S. Malik, the police commissioner for Ahmedabad, told The Associated Press, adding that “some locals would have also died” when the plane crashed into a residential area where offices were also located. “Exact figures on casualties are being ascertained,” he said.
The signal from Air India Flight 171 was lost at 1:38 p.m. local time, less than a minute after takeoff, flight tracking site FlightRadar24 said.
The flight was bound for London Gatwick Airport when it was “involved in a tragic accident today,” Air India Chairman N Chandrasekaran said.
Video posted on social media appeared to show the jetliner descending followed by a fireball and a dark plume of smoke. It wasn’t clear if there were survivors, but if there are casualties, it would be the first fatal crash of a Boeing Dreamliner.
A view shows the rear of an Air India plane following its crash, in Ahmedabad, India, June 12, 2025.
Central Industrial Security Forc | Via Reuters
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a top-selling wide-body aircraft meant for longer routes. The aircraft was delivered to Air India in 2014, according FlightRadar24.
The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately known and could take months to determine. Under international protocols during crashes, the country where the incident took place will lead the investigation, along with officials, the maker of the aircraft and its engines, and others.
Initial flight-path data “shows that the aircraft reached a maximum barometric altitude of 625 feet (airport altitude is about 200 feet) and then it started to descend with an vertical speed of -475 feet per minute,” FlightRadar said on X.
The more than 11-year-old plane had 41,000 hours of flight time, nearly 8,000 takeoffs, which are average for that aircraft and the year it was built, according to aviation-data firm Cirium.
Rescue team members work as smoke rises at the site where an Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad, India, June 12, 2025.
Amit Dave | Reuters
“We are in contact with Air India regarding Flight 171 and stand ready to support them,” Boeing said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with the passengers, crew, first responders and all affected.”
Flights at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, a major airport in the area, were temporarily suspended in the wake of the incident and resumed a few hours later, according to India’s government press bureau.
“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,” said Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, India’s aviation minister, in a post on X.
People gather near a damaged building at the site where an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane crashed in Ahmedabad, India, June 12, 2025.
Amit Dave | Reuters
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said it will send a team of investigators to India.
The incident occurred just before the high-profile Paris Air Show trade event set for next week, where both Boeing and rival Airbus were set to announce hundreds of aircraft orders.
Boeing has also been working to turn a corner from a years of safety and quality crises and has made strides, though it remained unclear on Thursday whether an aircraft quality problem was in play in the Air India crash.
Boeing shares were down more than 4% in premarket trading.
Air India has also been investing heavily in modernizing its fleet and upgrading its cabins in recent years.
This is a developing story and will be updated shortly.
