Air India plane crashes near India's Ahmedabad airport
Air India, the country's flagship carrier, said in a post on X that Flight 171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick had been 'involved in an incident.'
The airline said it was 'ascertaining the details and will share further updates at the earliest.'
It was scheduled to depart at 1:10 p.m. local time (3:40 a.m. ET).
The plane crashed in a civilian area outside the airport, Reuters reported, citing police.
The aircraft involved is a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, according to flight tracking site Flightradar24, which said it received the last signal from the aircraft just seconds after takeoff.
It was not immediately clear how many people were on board.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Air India jet plunged 900ft during flight just two days after crash
An Air India plane plunged 900ft during its flight just two days after the disaster crash that killed 241 people onboard and dozens more on the ground, the airline has revealed. The plane, flying from Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport for Vienna, dropped 900ft in midair during a flight on June 14. It landed safely in Vienna following a nine-hour flight, but both pilots onboard have since been grounded pending an investigation by India's air watchdog, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), into the incident, Air India said. A spokesperson told local media: 'Upon receipt of the pilot's report, the matter was disclosed to DGCA in accordance with regulations. 'Subsequently, upon receipt of data from the aircraft's recorders, further investigation was initiated. The pilots have been off-rostered pending the outcome of the investigation.' It comes as aviation accident experts probing the devastating Air India flight 171 crash revealed they are investigating whether sabotage played a part in the doomed aircraft's fate. There were 53 Britons onboard the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that exploded shortly after taking off from the western Indian city of Ahmedabad on June 12. All 242 passengers but one were killed - the sole survivor being Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, a British father who lost his brother in the tragic incident. The aircraft spent less than 40 seconds in the air before exploding upon impact and numerous explanations have been put forward for the plane's premature descent. India's minister of state for civil aviation, Murlidhar Mohol, confirmed that sabotage is among the possible causes being explored by crash investigators. Speaking with NDTV's Jitendra Dixit, he described the crash as an 'unfortunate incident' but said that India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) were not ruling out any theories. He added: 'The AAIB has begun a full investigation into it. It is being probed from all angles, including any possible sabotage. 'The CCTV footage are being reviewed and all angles are being assessed, several agencies are working on it.' The Aircraft Accidents Investigation Bureau is now pouring over the footage that should enable them to create a second-by-second reconstruction of events as they unfolded. The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) captures all audio from the cockpit, including pilot conversations, radio transmissions, warning alarms and ambient mechanical sounds. It will allow investigators to finally understand what happened in the moments leading up to one of the world's worst aviation disasters in a decade. Planes usually carry two black boxes - one records flight data, such as altitude and speed and the other records sound from the cockpit, so investigators can hear what the pilots are saying and listen for any unusual noises. Besides sabotage, some analysts have suggested a catastrophic technical fault could be responsible for the crash. The Ahmedabad disaster was the first time a Boeing Dreamliner has crashed since the models introduction in 2011. However, there has been concerns about the model's engines, including a mid-air drive on a LATAM Airlines flight last year which was reportedly caused by a faulty seat in the cockpit and left more than 50 passengers injured. During hearings in Washington last year, a former Boeing engineer turned whistleblower urged the aerospace giant to ground all Dreamliners. Ed Pierson, a former high-level Boeing manager who testified at the congressional hearings, said it was 'possible' safety concerns raised by himself and others in 2019 could have affected the Gatwick-bound aircraft. At the time, his fellow whistleblower Sam Saklephour voiced concerns about the air giant's manufacturing of 787 aircrafts - claims Boeing refuted and said it had full confidence in the model. When asked if concerns could flagged by Salehpour could have been present in other 787s in general, Mr Pierson said: 'It is possible. 'Because the problems he identified that's how the planes were being built for a long time so the testimony that he gave and I gave that day all proceeded this India accident.' Mr Pierson, who previously spoke of manufacturing concerns of the company's 737 Max aircraft told NDTV production facilities for that plane in particular, were 'chaotic and dangerous'. 'There were a lot of indications of chaotic and dangerous manufacturing. We were rushing to build the planes to get them out of the door. Employees were pressured to get their work done.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Air India flight plunged 900ft during flight just two days after disaster crash
An Air India plane plunged 900ft during its flight just two days after the disaster crash that killed 241 people onboard and dozens more on the ground, the airline has revealed. The plane, flying from Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport for Vienna, dropped 900ft in midair during a flight on June 14. It landed safely in Vienna following a nine-hour flight, but both pilots onboard have since been grounded pending an investigation by India's air watchdog, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), into the incident, Air India said. A spokesperson told local media: 'Upon receipt of the pilot's report, the matter was disclosed to DGCA in accordance with regulations. 'Subsequently, upon receipt of data from the aircraft's recorders, further investigation was initiated. The pilots have been off-rostered pending the outcome of the investigation.' It comes as aviation accident experts probing the devastating Air India flight 171 crash revealed they are investigating whether sabotage played a part in the doomed aircraft's fate. There were 53 Britons onboard the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that exploded shortly after taking off from the western Indian city of Ahmedabad on June 12. All 242 passengers but one were killed - the sole survivor being Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, a British father who lost his brother in the tragic incident. The aircraft spent less than 40 seconds in the air before exploding upon impact and numerous explanations have been put forward for the plane's premature descent. India's minister of state for civil aviation, Murlidhar Mohol, confirmed that sabotage is among the possible causes being explored by crash investigators. Speaking with NDTV's Jitendra Dixit, he described the crash as an 'unfortunate incident' but said that India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) were not ruling out any theories. He added: 'The AAIB has begun a full investigation into it. It is being probed from all angles, including any possible sabotage. 'The CCTV footage are being reviewed and all angles are being assessed, several agencies are working on it.' The Aircraft Accidents Investigation Bureau is now pouring over the footage that should enable them to create a second-by-second reconstruction of events as they unfolded. The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) captures all audio from the cockpit, including pilot conversations, radio transmissions, warning alarms and ambient mechanical sounds. It will allow investigators to finally understand what happened in the moments leading up to one of the world's worst aviation disasters in a decade. Wreckage: People look at the debris of an Air India plane that crashed in Ahmedabad, located in India's Gujarat state Planes usually carry two black boxes - one records flight data, such as altitude and speed and the other records sound from the cockpit, so investigators can hear what the pilots are saying and listen for any unusual noises. Besides sabotage, some analysts have suggested a catastrophic technical fault could be responsible for the crash. The Ahmedabad disaster was the first time a Boeing Dreamliner has crashed since the models introduction in 2011. However, there has been concerns about the model's engines, including a mid-air drive on a LATAM Airlines flight last year which was reportedly casued by a faulty seat in the cockpit and left more than 50 passengers injured. During hearings in Washington last year, a former Boeing engineer turned whistleblower urged the aerospace giant to ground all Dreamliners. Ed Pierson, a former high-level Boeing manager who testified at the congressional hearings, said it was 'possible' safety concerns raised by himself and others in 2019 could have affected the Gatwick-bound aircraft. At the time, his fellow whistleblower Sam Saklephour voiced concerns about the air giant's manufacturing of 787 aircrafts - claims Boeing refuted and said it had full confidence in the model. When asked if concerns could flagged by Salehpour could have been present in other 787s in general, Mr Pierson said: 'It is possible. 'Because the problems he identified that's how the planes were being built for a long time so the testimony that he gave and I gave that day all proceeded this India accident.' Location: The siblings had been a few seats apart onboard the plane, with survivor Vishwash sitting at 11A and his younger brother positioned at 11J on the other side of the aisle Mr Pierson, who previously spoke of manufacturing concerns of the company's 737 Max aircraft told NDTV production facilities for that plane in particular, were 'chaotic and dangerous'. 'There were a lot of indications of chaotic and dangerous manufacturing. We were rushing to build the planes to get them out of the door. Employees were pressured to get their work done. 'There was parts issues. We had aircraft systems issues that I remembered we were having difficulty with. And I remember being very concerned that we were taking unnecessary risks,' he added. Air India flight 171's crash came just weeks after Boeing came to a £1.1billion settlement with the US justice department to avoid prosecution over two crashes in 2018 and 2019 involving its 737 MAX model.
Daily Mirror
4 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Air India flight plunged 900ft after takeoff in terrifying mid-air incident
Two pilots have been grounded following the worrying incident which came a matter of days after the doomed Air India flight to London Gatwick crashed after take off An Air India flight from Delhi to Vienna experienced a sudden 900ft drop moments after takeoff just days after a deadly crash in Ahmedabad. The June 14 incident prompted a full-scale investigation and the grounding of both pilots. Flight AI-187, a Boeing 777, departed Indira Gandhi International Airport at 2.56 am a fortnight ago, and landed safely in Vienna after a nine-hour journey. However, moments after takeoff, the aircraft triggered multiple cockpit alerts—including stall warnings and repeated 'Don't sink' proximity alarms, raising serious safety concerns. Air India confirmed that the pilots acted swiftly to stabilise the aircraft despite challenging weather conditions. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) was immediately informed, and data from the aircraft's flight recorders has since been retrieved for analysis. Pending the outcome of the investigation, both pilots have been taken off duty, according to local media reports. The DGCA has also summoned Air India's Head of Safety for an explanation and launched a detailed audit of the airline's operations. This incident occurred just 38 hours after another Air India tragedy: a London-bound Dreamliner crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad on June 12, killing nearly 270 people. A recent DGCA safety audit flagged recurring maintenance lapses and poor fault rectification across Air India's fleet. Earlier this month, several flights reported technical issues, prompting the aviation regulator to begin a comprehensive review of the airline's base in Gurugram. The audit, which began on June 23, covers flight planning, scheduling, rostering, and the Integrated Operations Control Centre (IOCC). As investigators examine whether weather, mechanical failure, or pilot error contributed to the Vienna-bound flight's altitude loss, the findings could lead to stricter oversight and changes in operational protocols. This weekend it was revealed that Air India investigators are probing whether the tragic plane crash could have been caused by sabotage. Only one passenger, British man Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, survived the crash on June 12, which happened shortly after the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner took off from Ahmedabad in western India. The plane, with 52 Brits on board, was bound for London Gatwick. An investigation was immediately launched after the tragedy - and the Indian government has now revealed investigators are looking into sabotage as a possible cause. Murlidhar Mohol, the country's Minister of State for Civil Aviation, said: "The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has begun a full probe. It is being assessed from all angles, including any possible sabotage." There has previously been speculation of potential sabotage, but this is the first time officials have formally acknowledged they are looking into it as a possible cause of the crash. On Thursday, the country's civil aviation ministry said investigators had begun analysing data extracted from the black boxes of the plane. The data is crucial as it will help shed light on the cause of the crash. "These efforts aim to reconstruct the sequence of events leading to the accident and identify contributing factors to enhance aviation safety and prevent future occurrences," the ministry said. The probe is being carried out by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, or AAIB, with support from the US National Transport Safety Board. Indian investigators recovered the black boxes from the wreckage site a couple of days after the crash. These boxes - which are typically orange, not black - are considered the most important pieces of forensic evidence following a plane crash. There are typically two sturdy devices, the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder. The black boxes were flown from Ahmedabad to the national capital, New Delhi, in an Indian Air Force aircraft amid tight security early this week. The investigation could take weeks or months.
