Air India Boeing 787 Crashes After Takeoff, With 242 People Onboard

It’s a tragic day for aviation, as an Air India Boeing 787 has just crashed, marking the first-ever crash for the Dreamliner, since it first entered service.

Air India Ahmedabad to London flight crashes after takeoff

This incident happened today (June 12, 2025), and involves Air India flight AI171, scheduled to operate the 4,262-mile flight from Ahmedabad (AMD) to London Gatwick (LGW). The flight was operated by an 11-year-old Boeing 787-8 with the registration cote VT-ANB.

According to regulators, the jet crashed immediately after takeoff, with 242 people on board, including two pilots and 10 flight attendants.

The aircraft took off at 1:39PM local time, from runway 23. The pilots gave a “mayday” call after takeoff to air traffic control, but there was no response after that. Flight tracking data suggests that the plane’s last signal was transmitted less than a minute after takeoff, as the plane climbed through 625 feet.

The aircraft crashed just outside the airport perimeter, and heavy black smoke was seen coming from the accident site. Video footage of the plane just after takeoff has already been released, and shows the plane struggling to gain altitude.

Information about the pilots has already been released, and the captain had 8,200 flight hours, while the first officer had 1,100 flight hours.

Obviously this is a horrible tragedy, and my thoughts and prayers are for all those onboard and their families, and I’m hoping for as good of an outcome as possible. I’ll be sure to update this post with more details, as they’re made available.

This is the first hull loss for a Boeing 787 Dreamliner

Aviation is incredibly safe, and it’s extremely rare to see fatal accidents. India, in particular, has a really good safety record in recent years, despite the pace at which the industry has grown.

Notably, this is the first ever hull loss for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, since it entered commercial service in 2011. For that matter, we’ve never seen any sort of a fatal accident with the jet, up until this point.

Bottom line

An Air India Boeing 787 has crashed today, with 242 people onboard. The plane was flying from Ahmedabad to London, and crashed just moments after takeoff, as it seemingly struggled to gain altitude.

What a massive tragedy, and sad day fro aviation. This is the first hull loss ever for the 787, and the first wide body passenger jet crash in many years. My thoughts are with everyone involved. It’s just heart-wrenching…

What do you make of this Air India Boeing 787 crash?