Ahmedabad Crash: India Needs Better Flight Safety, Robust Systems

The Hindu

22-06-2025

Published : Jun 22, 2025 15:27 IST - 1 MIN READ
Air travel today is statistically the safest it has ever been. According to the International Air Transport Association, just one fatal accident for every 1.26 million flights was recorded in 2023. That level of safety has made aviation one of the most trusted modes of transport globally.
But such confidence can be shattered in an instant.
On June 12, 2025, Air India flight AI–171, a Boeing 787–8 bound for London crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad airport. It slammed into a building near B.J. Medical College, killing 241 of the 242 people on board—including 230 passengers and 12 crew—and claiming at least 39 more lives on the ground.
The tragedy, now considered among the worst in India's aviation history, was made even more wrenching by images and videos taken by passengers moments before the flight—smiling faces, casual selfies, excited farewells—all of which now carry the unbearable weight of finality.
As families grieve and try to process the scale of their loss, the nation is left confronting urgent questions. About how we build and maintain our airports. About the robustness of air traffic control systems. About how rigorously aircraft are inspected, how pilots are trained and tested, and how stringently safety norms are enforced.
Even as we await the conclusions of the official probe, one imperative stands out: the tragedy must not be reduced to a data point. Its lessons must be codified: built into systems, procedures, accountability structures, and a culture of proactive safety.
That is the only fitting tribute to the lives that were lost. And it is the least we owe them.