Prime Minister Narendra Modi leads the nation in prayers for the victims of Air India flight AI171 that crashed while departing from Ahmedabad for Gatwick (London) midday on Thursday, June 12. The airline has officially announced that 241 out of 242 people on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft died in the tragic crash that took place immediately after take-off. Barring one miracle survivor, Vishwaskumar Ramesh, no one else could be rescued.

The aircraft took off at 1:38 pm. Just a few minutes later, the aircraft plummeted into the B J Medical College hostel mess 5 km from the airport. 28 people were killed on the ground. A towering plume of smoke was visible from afar after a massive explosion. The pilots reportedly gave a ‘Mayday’ call immediately after takeoff, signalling a life-threatening emergency, but did not respond to subsequent calls made by the airport traffic control.

According to flight tracking data, the signal from the aircraft was lost at an altitude of just 625 feet, moments after take-off. It then descended with a vertical speed of 475 feet per minute and crashed. Due to the long-distance flight, the aircraft had a huge amount of fuel (1.25 lakh litres), and this, coupled with the very high temperature from the explosion, meant no one could be rescued. This is the first wide-body crash for an Indian airline in four decades, the last being the bombing of Air India Boeing 747 ‘Kanishka’ in June 1985. This one is also the worst take-off or landing accident in Indian civil aviation history. It is also the first crash of a Boeing 787 globally.

Aircraft Accident Investigation Begins

Six National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) teams were on the spot helping rescue work. While post-crash support helplines have been established, the aircraft “Black Box" that records in very great detail all the aircraft flight and technical parameters, as well as the cockpit crew voice recording, has been recovered. The accident will be investigated by the Indian government’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), an attached office of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA).

Once the rescue operations are called off, AAIB is expected to cordon off the accident site for collecting evidence, particularly perishable evidence that may not be available later. The AAIB would also gather recordings and data from the ATC, radar stations, along with meteorological records, and any other required data or information from the airport, airline and other stakeholders. The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has offered to send a team of investigators to assist the AAIB. Boeing said that it was in touch with Air India regarding AI-171 and stood ready to support the airline. The final AAIB report has to be completed within one year from the accident.

A lot of armchair analysts have started conjecturing on the “breaking news hungry" print and audiovisual media. They are shooting from the hip about possible bird-hit, loss of engines, hydraulic failure, landing gear not going up, flaps sliding up, wrong selection of flaps, among many others, including conspiracy theories. It is best to wait for accident investigation experts who will analyse the technical evidence.

Boeing 787 Dreamliner

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner prototype was rolled out on July 8, 2007. The first 787-8 joined All Nippon Airways of Japan on October 26, 2011. At launch, the 787 offered 20 per cent less fuel burn compared to the Boeing 767. The twinjet is powered by General Electric GEnx or Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 high-bypass turbofans. It is the first airliner with an airframe primarily made of composite materials and makes greater use of electrical systems. Externally, it is recognisable by its four-window cockpit, raked wingtips, and noise-reducing chevrons on its engine nacelles. The 186-foot-long 787-8 typically seats 248 passengers over a range of 13,529 km.

The early 787 operations encountered several problems caused mainly by its lithium-ion batteries, including fires on board some aircraft. In January 2013, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded all 787s until it approved the revised battery design in April 2013. Significant quality control issues from 2019 onwards caused a production slowdown and, from January 2021 until August 2022, an almost total cessation of deliveries. The Ahmedabad accident has been the first hull loss of the aircraft.

Boeing has spent $32 billion on the programme; estimates for the number of aircraft sales needed to break even vary between 1,300 and 2,000. As of June 2025, the 787 programme has received 2,137 orders and made 1,189 deliveries.

Quality Control Issues with the Dreamliner

By around 2019, reports began to emerge about........

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