By By Micheal Chukwuebuka
Tragedy struck India’s aviation sector on Thursday as Air India Flight 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London Gatwick, crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport.
Officials confirmed the flight, carrying 242 people including two pilots and 10 cabin crew, went down outside the airport perimeter after issuing a mayday call.
The aircraft was carrying 169 Indian passengers, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese citizens, and one Canadian.
Thick plumes of black smoke could be seen rising above the crash site, located near densely populated residential areas in the Gujarat state capital, home to about eight million people.
India’s Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu expressed his devastation over the incident, assuring that rescue and emergency response teams had been swiftly mobilised. “My thoughts and prayers are with all those on board and their families,” he said, directing immediate and coordinated relief efforts to the site.
Air India’s Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran confirmed the crash, describing it as a “devastating event” and extended heartfelt condolences to the families of those affected. An emergency response centre and support lines for families have also been activated.
India, despite remarkable growth in its aviation sector, has faced several fatal crashes in recent decades, including a 1996 mid-air collision over New Delhi that killed nearly 350 people, and a 2010 Air India Express disaster in Mangalore that claimed 158 lives. The country’s worst air tragedy remains the 1985 bombing of an Air India Boeing 747 off the Irish coast, which killed all 329 people on board.
India’s aviation industry has expanded rapidly in recent years, with domestic air travel reaching over 500,000 passengers in a single day last year. Air India itself has embarked on a massive fleet expansion, placing orders for hundreds of new aircraft from Boeing and Airbus.
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