An Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner, operating as flight AI-171 from Ahmedabad to Gatwick, crashed shortly after takeoff on Thursday afternoon, June 12, 2025. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) confirmed the incident, stating that the aircraft, registered as VT-ANB, had 242 people on board, including two pilots and 10 cabin crew members.
According to preliminary information, the flight departed from Runway 23 at Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1:39 PM IST (0809 UTC). Shortly after takeoff, the crew issued a MAYDAY call to the Air Traffic Control (ATC), signaling a critical emergency. However, no further communication was received from the aircraft following the distress call. The aircraft crashed just outside the airport perimeter. Witnesses and airport officials reported seeing heavy black smoke emanating from the crash site.
The aircraft was under the command of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a line training captain (LTC) with 8,200 hours of flying experience. The First Officer was Clive Kundar, who had logged 1,100 hours.
The DGCA's preliminary statement highlighted that after the MAYDAY call, there was no further response from the aircraft to subsequent calls made by the ATC. The aircraft, immediately after departure from Runway 23, crashed on the ground outside the airport perimeter.
The incident occurred in the Meghaninagar area, near the airport. Air India and aviation authorities are expected to release further details after rescue and recovery operations are completed.
