BANGKOK, Thailand – An Air India flight bound for London crashed shortly after takeoff on Thursday, June 12, in a residential area called Meghani Nagar, just minutes after departing from Ahmedabad Airport. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, operating as Flight AI171, was carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members.
The aircraft took off at 1:39 PM IST (08:09 UTC) from Runway 23. Moments after takeoff, air traffic control (ATC) received an emergency signal from the aircraft, but lost all communication shortly afterward. Thick black smoke was seen rising from the crash site, located outside the airport’s perimeter.
The pilot in command was Captain Sumit Sabharwal, who had over 8,200 hours of flying experience, while the co-pilot, Clive Kundar, had logged 1,100 hours.
Air India confirmed the incident in a statement posted on its official X (formerly Twitter) account:
“Flight AI171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick was involved in an incident on June 12, 2025. We are currently investigating and will provide updates on http://airindia.com and via our X account.”
According to official reports, the 230 passengers onboard included 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, 7 Portuguese citizens, and 1 Canadian. There were no Thai nationals on board. Multiple injuries are suspected, though casualty figures have not yet been confirmed.
