Air India Flight 171

Air India Flight 171 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Ahmedabad Airport, Gujarat, India, to London Gatwick Airport in Crawley, West Sussex, England. On 12 June 2025, at 13:39 IST (08:09 UTC), the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner operating the flight crashed 32 seconds after takeoff into the student hostels of the Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Medical College, 0.9 nmi (0.9 nmi; 0.9 nmi) from the runway. Of the 12 crew members and 230 passengers on board, only one passenger survived. On the ground, 19 people were killed, and 67 others were seriously injured.

The aircraft was destroyed, and several college buildings were severely damaged by the impact and subsequent fire. This was the first fatal accident and hull loss involving a Boeing 787 since the type entered service in 2011.

A preliminary report was released on 12 July 2025 by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), with the aircraft's front enhanced airborne flight recorder indicating that the crash was caused by the loss of thrust in both engines after their fuel control switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF three seconds after liftoff. In July 2026, the AAIB estimated that a draft final report would be completed by October 2026.

Accident

The aircraft was cleared for a full-length takeoff on runway 23, and lifted off at 13:38:39 IST after a 62-second takeoff roll. Surface winds were light at 6 knots, and visibility was 6 km with no significant cloud cover. The aircraft's ADS-B transponder reported a maximum pressure altitude of around 625 ft above mean sea level while climbing over the runway. Flight recorder data showed a maximum airspeed of 180 knots and a total airborne time of 32 seconds.

The aircraft began to lose altitude and crashed into the hostel block of the B. J. Medical College campus attached to the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital 0.9 nmi (0.9 nmi; 0.9 nmi) from the runway. The initial point of impact was a tree, after which the aircraft's tail struck the top of the campus canteen, with wings level and the nose pitched up by about eight degrees, causing the tail to detach. The aircraft continued breaking up as it collided with additional structures, with parts of the flight deck coming to rest approximately 650 ft from the mess hall impact site. The wreckage, from the first impact point to the last identified component, was distributed over an area approximately 1000 by 400 ft. In total, five buildings were severely damaged by the impact and subsequent fire, including student accommodation and the resident doctors' hostel.

A video recording from an airport CCTV camera looking down the runway captured the aircraft taking off, initially gaining altitude, then descending gradually. Another video taken by an aviation enthusiast about 200 m outside the airport perimeter showed it passing almost overhead just before impact. Both videos showed the aircraft sinking out of view, with fire and smoke rising from the crash site a few seconds later. According to CNN, the enthusiast later told the reporters that it had been behaving strangely, wobbling from side to side, and that the tail appeared to "sag more deeply beneath its nose" as it descended.

This was the first fatal accident and hull loss involving the Boeing 787 since it entered service in 2011.