Ahmedabad, India – What should have been a routine international flight ended in horror just minutes after takeoff.
Air India Flight 171, bound for London’s Gatwick Airport, crashed in Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner went down barely a mile from the runway, killing 241 passengers including crew on board and 11 people on the ground and 3 students on impact and injuring many more with only one survivor a British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh seated on seat 11A dubbed the miracle seat.
The plane was carrying 242 passengers and crew when it lifted off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1:30 p.m. local time. Eight minutes later, it struck the campus of B.J. Medical College, a sprawling site in the city centre.
“It hit our dining hall,” said Dr Minakshi Parikh, dean of the college. “Some of the students had just sat down to eat. It was chaos. We lost at least five.”
A Terrifying Descent Caught on Camera
Footage captured from a rooftop nearby verified by press shows the aircraft struggling shortly after takeoff. The plane’s nose tilted upward unnaturally, its landing gear still extended. It began losing altitude almost immediately.
A slow descent turned disastrous in seconds. The footage ends in a fireball.
“It didn’t sound right,” said 27-year-old Pranav Joshi, a local shopkeeper. “There was this low, chugging noise. And then a loud bang. We ran outside and saw smoke over the college.”
The Crash Site: Devastation on Campus
The aircraft tore through part of the medical campus, damaging dormitories and a dining facility. Its tail was later found lodged inside the mess hall building.
According to emergency services, most of the victims on the ground were students. Many survivors of the fatal plane crash were injured while trying to flee collapsing structures.
“We were lucky it wasn’t worse,” said one emergency worker. “There were dozens of people in the area.”
Several buildings sustained heavy damage. Photos from the scene show scorched walls, scattered belongings, and half-collapsed structures near the crash site.
The Plane: A Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
Air India Flight 171 was operated with a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, a model known for its long-haul capabilities and strong safety record. According to the Aviation Safety Network, the 787-8 has not been involved in any fatal crash until now.
Aviation experts say that makes Thursday’s incident all the more shocking.
“The 787 is built with some of the most advanced safety features available,” said Harshad Kapoor, an independent aviation analyst based in Mumbai. “But even the best aircraft can’t overcome failures caused by human error or unexpected mechanical issues.”
What Happened in the Air?
The flight path recorded by Flightradar24 shows the aircraft never gained significant altitude. From its initial taxi on the runway at 1:30 p.m., it climbed only briefly before starting to descend rapidly.
Officials have not yet confirmed whether there was a mechanical failure or pilot distress call. The black box flight recorders have since been recovered and sent for analysis.
India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Boeing are jointly investigating the crash.
Survivor and Next Steps
Miraculously, only one passenger of Air India Flight on board survived tragically loosing all the 241 passengers on board the flight A171 including crew. On impact 11 people were killed with three student confirmed dead after impact. Local hospitals are treating Vishwash Kumar Rameshthe lone survivor and injured students for injuries ranging from burns to fractures. Air India has opened a hotline for relatives and is working to identify the deceased.
“We are devastated by this loss,” the airline said in a brief statement. “Our thoughts are with the victims and their families. We are fully cooperating with investigators.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered condolences to the victims’ families and called for “a thorough, transparent investigation.”
Back at the college, students lit candles on Thursday evening. “They were just having lunch,” whispered one student, wiping away tears. “Then everything changed.”
