On Jun 12th 2025, Air India flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner registered VT-ANB, crashed moments after takeoff from Ahmedabad, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and at least 19 people on the ground in one of the deadliest aviation disasters in India’s history.
The aircraft, carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew, departed runway 23 at 13:38 local time bound for London Gatwick. Seconds after liftoff, the crew transmitted a desperate Mayday call: “No thrust, not taking lift.” Within moments, the Dreamliner lost altitude and impacted the BJ Medical College complex in the Meghaninagar suburb, about 0.9 nautical miles beyond the runway end. The wreckage was scattered across roughly 200 meters, and parts of the aircraft struck hostel buildings housing medical students, triggering fires and chaos on the ground.
Rescue services rushed to the scene, but the devastation was overwhelming. Air India later confirmed that 241 people on board perished, with only one passenger surviving. The survivor, seated in 11A, later described flickering cabin lights and the aircraft appearing “stuck in the air” before slamming into the building. On the ground, at least 19 fatalities were confirmed, with dozens more injured, including students who were inside the hostel at the time of impact.
India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation reported that the Mayday call was made at 13:39L, with no further transmissions before the crash. Early findings ruled out bird strike and loading issues, and authorities stated that simultaneous pilot error or a dual engine failure appeared unlikely. Both engines, General Electric GEnx units, had recently undergone inspections, and the aircraft had no known technical issues before departure. Nevertheless, the government ordered inspections of all Air India Dreamliners as a precaution.
As investigators recovered the flight data recorder, cockpit voice recorder, and ELT, a clearer picture of the final seconds began to emerge. Data showed that shortly after liftoff, both engine fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF within one second of each other, leading to a rapid loss of thrust. Cockpit voice recordings captured one pilot asking the other why the fuel had been cut off, with the response: “I did not do so.” Moments later, both engines began relight attempts, but only one showed partial recovery before the recording ended and the aircraft crashed.
The unfolding investigation has since expanded into a complex examination of possible system failures, including electrical anomalies, engine control vulnerabilities, and long-standing service bulletins that had not been implemented. Attention has focused on a General Electric service bulletin warning of potential loss of thrust control due to microprocessor solder failures inside the engine electronic control unit, a condition explicitly described as affecting flight safety. Whistleblower reports and technical data released months later alleged that the aircraft had experienced repeated electrical faults throughout its 11-year service life, raising concerns about latent defects and the normalization of deviance in maintenance and oversight.
By mid-2025, India’s AAIB had downloaded and begun analyzing both black boxes with assistance from the NTSB and UK investigators. The tragedy also moved into the judicial realm, with multiple petitions before India’s Supreme Court demanding an independent inquiry, citing possible systemic failures rather than pilot action. The court has repeatedly emphasized that no blame lies with the crew, while hearings continue amid growing scrutiny of regulatory oversight and manufacturer accountability.
What began as a routine international departure ended in catastrophe within seconds, leaving hundreds of families grieving and a nation demanding answers. As investigations continue into 2026, the crash of Air India flight AI-171 stands as a grim reminder of how hidden technical vulnerabilities, when left unresolved, can converge in a single moment with irreversible consequences.
