Recently, an aviation tragedy occurred in India when Air India flight AI171 crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport, Gujarat state. This Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was on its way to London Gatwick, England, carrying a total of 242 people, including 230 passengers and 12 crew members. Among the passengers, there were 169 Indian citizens, 53 British, 7 Portuguese and one Canadian.
The plane was scheduled to take off at around 1:47 p.m. local time. However, just nine minutes after leaving the runway, the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed into a residential area near the airport. A video shared online showed the plane going down, and images from the scene showed thick black smoke billowing from the crash site. The crash site has been identified as a doctors' dormitory.
An Air India plane carrying 242 people crashed into the ground after taking off from India's Ahmedabad airport, bursting into flames and killing at least 200 people.
Rescue teams were immediately deployed to the scene. Firefighters were quickly on the scene to extinguish the fire. Indian Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu expressed shock and grief over the accident and said that rescue teams were on the highest alert.
Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed into the ground after taking off from Ahmedabad city airport, Gujarat state, western India
This is the first fatal accident of the Dreamliner series since it began operating in 2011.
Mr Naidu also expressed his condolences and prayers to all those on board and their families. Three disaster response teams with about 90 personnel have been deployed to the scene, and three more teams are on their way to assist.
The plane was carrying 242 people, including 169 Indians, 53 British, seven Portuguese and one Canadian, along with 12 crew members.
Air India has issued a statement confirming that flight AI171 had encountered an "incident", saying it is gathering further details and will update as soon as possible. Authorities have yet to release an official cause of the crash.
Ahmedabad's police chief said it appeared no one on board survived and there were likely to be casualties on the ground.
In terms of casualties, India's health minister confirmed that "many" people had died. Different sources gave different death tolls, with News18 reporting at least 40 dead, while Indian TimesNow TV said at least 133 people had been confirmed dead. Reuters quoted local police as saying more than 200 people had died, and NDTV even reported that all 242 people on board had died.
Multiple cell phone footage shows the plane swooping over the city before crashing and bursting into flames.
Ahmedabad police chief said there appeared to be no survivors and there were likely casualties on the ground. At least 204 bodies have been recovered, but it is unclear if all were on board. At least five students who were not on the plane but were in the dormitory area where the plane crashed also died, and 40 others were injured. This is the first fatal accident involving the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner since it began operating in 2011.
The non-profit Flight Safety Foundation said in 2014 that statistics show that in the decade from 2004 to 2013, nearly half of all commercial jetliner accidents worldwide occurred during the final descent or landing phase of a flight, and about 14% of fatal accidents occurred during the takeoff (8%) and initial climb (6%) phases of a flight.
