'Mayday call to ATC...': How London-bound Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad

The Air India flight AI171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick airport which crashed near Ahmedabad airport on Thursday, reached a maximum barometric altitude of 625 feet before plummeting, data shared by Flightradar24 showed.

The plane with 242 passengers crashed in the Meghaninagar area near the Ahmedabad airport, and first visuals showed the aircraft plummeting to the ground shortly after take-off, bursting into a ball of fire. Of these, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals.

Confirming the incident, Air India said that Flight AI171, operating Ahmedabad-London Gatwick, was involved in an incident on Thursday.

Air India flight crashes near Ahmedabad airport: Follow the LIVE updates here

Immediately after departure from Runway 23, the aircraft fell outside the airport perimeter. Visuals showed heavy black smoke was seen coming from the accident site.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation said that a team has been rushed to the spot for investigation. "The crew of Air India flight AI171 gave a MAYDAY call to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) immediately after take-off, but gave no response after that to calls made by the ATC to the aircraft," aviation regulator DGCA said in a statement.

#WATCH | London-bound Air India Plane with 242 passengers on board crashes near Ahmedabad Airport #AhmedabadPlaneCrash #AirIndiaCrash #AhmedabadAirportAccident #AirIndiaFlightCrash #PassengerPlaneCrash #AhmedabadAviationIncident #AhmedabadPlaneAccidentNews pic.twitter.com/Xjdy8ob3zF
Moneycontrol (@moneycontrolcom) June 12, 2025

A senior DGCA official informed, "On 12th Jun, 2025, Air India B787 Aircraft VT-ANB, while operating flight AI-171 from Ahmedabad to Gatwick, has crashed immediately after takeoff from Ahmedabad. There were 242 people on board the aircraft, consisting of 2 pilots and 10 cabin crew."

Also Read - Air India flight to London with 242 passengers crashes near Ahmedabad airport

The aircraft was under the command of Capt Sumeet Sabharwal with First Officer Clive Kundar. Capt Sumeet Sabharwal is an LTC with 8200 hours of experience. The copilot had 1100 hours of flying experience, the official further added.

Air India flight #AI171 was scheduled to fly from Ahmedabad International Airport to London Gatwick Airport.The signal from the aircraft was lost at 08:08 UTC (13:38 local time) at 625 feet, less than a minute after take off. pic.twitter.com/0wi4ccQnLLFlightradar24 (@flightradar24) June 12, 2025

Talking about the circumstances that led to the crash, Flightradar24 posted, "Initial ADS-B data from flight #AI171 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."

Initial ADS-B data from flight #AI171 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. pic.twitter.com/29szCqRcgR Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) June 12, 2025

"We received the last signal from the aircraft at 08:08:51 UTC, just seconds after take off. The aircraft involved is a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with registration VT-ANB," it said.

"The scheduled time of departure was 09:50 local time and scheduled arrival time was 18:25 local time. The signal from the aircraft was lost at 10:08 local time at 625 feet, less than a minute after take off," it added.

The aircraft had first flown on 14 December, 2013, and it had been delivered to Air India in January 2014. "First flight of the aircraft was on 2013-12-14 and it was delivered to Air India in January 2014," Flightradar24 stated.

The aircraft involved in the Air India #AI171 crash is a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with registration number VT-ANB and serial number 36279.First flight of the aircraft was on 2013-12-14 and it was delivered to Air India in January 2014. pic.twitter.com/gC1Mk5WoCa Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) June 12, 2025

Sharing the weather situation on-ground, when the ill-fated fight took off, Flightradar24 shared that as far as the situation in Ahmedabad was concerned, the wind direction was 250 degrees, the wind speed was "7kt", the temperature on ground was 37 degrees Celsius, the dew point was 16 degrees Celsius, the pressure was 1001 hPa, and the visibility at the airport was 6000 metres.

The weather in Ahmedabad at the time of the accident of flight #AI171Wind direction: 250Wind speed: 7ktTemperature: 37CDew point: 16CPressure: 1001 hPaVisibility: 6000 mhttps://t.co/xMtrsD3Qwz pic.twitter.com/86Cv3q0Vec
Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) June 12, 2025

An Operational Control Room has been activated at the Ministry of Civil Aviation to coordinate all details at 011-24610843 and 9650391859