Air India’s Boeing Dreamliner crashes minutes after takeoff-OxBig News Network

Air traffic control received a distress call from the pilots at 1.38 PM, moments before the aircraft headed for London plunged into doctors’ hostel attached to the B.J. Medical College. As per Flightradar 24, a flight tracking platform, signal from the aircraft was lost less than a minute after take-off, while the plane was at 625 ft.

The aircraft had 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, one Canadian national and seven Portuguese nationals. Gujarat’s former chief minister Vijay Rupani was among the passengers. The Ahmedabad airport shut operations for over two hours, before reopening at 4:05 PM. There was no official count of casualties; however, at least one survivor was being treated at a city hospital.

“Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly,” Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a survivor who suffered impact injuries on his chest, eyes and feet, told HT at a city hospital.

First under Tata ownership

This is the first crash for Air India under Tata Group ownership, and the first for any Dreamliner, which has been flying since 2009. The ill-fated aircraft was VT-ANB, which joined the Air India fleet in 2014. N. Chandrasekaran, Tata Group chairman who also chairs Air India, assured that the airline would assist all affected families.

“No words can adequately express the grief we feel at this moment. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families who have lost their loved ones, and with those who have been injured,” Chandrasekaran said in a statement posted on the airline’s X handle. The Tata Group will provide ₹1 crore each to the families of each person who died, cover the medical expenses of those injured, and support rebuilding the hostel.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condoled the deaths. The Air India flight was bound for London Gatwick from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.

Air India is organizing two relief flights, one each from Delhi and Mumbai, to Ahmedabad for the next of kin of passengers and Air India staff. The airline requested the next of kin to call its hotline on 1800 5691 444. The airline changed colours on its website and social media handles to black, as airlines typically do at times of catastrophe.

Earlier in 2010, an Air India Express aircraft crashed in Mangalore, killing 158 people. In 2020, another Air India Express accident at Kozhikode killed 20.

India’s aviation regulator said the aircraft had taken off from Runway 23, and fell outside the airport perimeter. “The aircraft was under the command of Capt. Sumeet Sabharwal with 8200 Hrs of experience. The co-pilot had 1100Hrs of flying experience,” the director general of civil aviation said.

Root cause to be found

Aviation minister Rammohan Naidu, officials from Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and DGCA reached the crash site. The aircraft’s flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder are expected to give clues to the root cause of the accident.

Indian aviation authorities, Boeing and Air India are expected to conduct an in-depth investigation. Boeing said it is in contact with Air India and ready to provide support.

The incident comes as a setback for Boeing, which had barely recovered from safety issues around its Max aircraft. Shares of Boeing were down 5.6% on the NYSE as of press time. Companies supplying parts to Boeing fell as well. Ironically, May was a blockbuster month for Boeing, with 303 orders.

Air India currently operates 34 Dreamliners. The airline had ordered 40 Dreamliners in 2023. The model is seen as one of the safest passenger widebody aircraft.

Sanjay Lazar, CEO of Avialaz Consultants, an aviation consultancy firm said that major issue with engines could have caused the incident. “It appears that the flight AI-171 suffered a loss of power in engines at 625 feet and hit the hostel. The aircraft appeared to have lost height and collapsed into a building of the medical college hostel,” said Lazar.

He also said that the 787 Dreamliner is one of the most technically sound and safe aircraft the world over. According to Boeing, 1,175 Dreamliners are in service. “The pilots were highly experienced and had close to 10,00 hours of combined experience,” added Lazar.

According to Ameya Joshi, an aviation analyst, the aircraft has flown for less than 12 years and is considered relatively young for widebody planes.