An Air India flight bound for London Gatwick has crashed shortly after taking off from the Indian city of Ahmedabad, with 242 people on board, the BBC reports.

Multiple news agencies on the ground later reported that the local police chief had indicated there were no survivors, although in the confusion, one survivor thought to be a British citizen, was shown being treated at a nearby hospital. 

Over 200 bodies have now been recovered at the scene although it is not clear whether these are of passengers from the aircraft or individuals on the ground.  

Flight AI171 lost contact with air traffic control just seconds after departing Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 13:39 local time (08:09 BST), according to India’s aviation regulator.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) confirmed that the aircraft had issued a mayday call shortly after take-off, but no further communication was received.

Tracking website Flightradar24 reported that the last signal was received when the aircraft was at an altitude of just 625 feet (190 metres).

The plane is believed to have come down in a nearby residential area, and emergency services are already at the scene looking for survivors from buildings affected by the crash. The plane crashed near or into a medical college.

Reports from sources in India point to the possibility of an instrument failure and as of yet unsubstantiated claims on the ground that the cockpit reported a lack of thrust straight after take-off. If proved correct this would match video of the plane struggling to stay in the air. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has released a message on X regarding the accident, saying: "The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us. It is heartbreaking beyond words."  

Air India has released details of those on board listed on the manifest, with 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese and one Canadian among the passengers. This number is understood to include 10 cabin crew and two pilots.

Initial reports about the flight crew say the captain of the aircraft was reported to have 8,200 hours of flying experience, while the co-pilot had over 1,000 hours.

The point of departure, Ahmedabad airport, has suspended all operations until further notice.

Company safety record

The crash is the latest in a string of accidents linked to the company – some fatal – in recent years.

Air India Express, the low-cost arm of the national carrier, in particular has suffered from a chequered safety record over the past decade and a half, marked by several serious incidents, sources reveal.

The most devastating occurred on May 22, 2010, when Flight 812, a Boeing 737-800 operating on the Dubai-Mangalore route, overshot a runway on landing at Mangalore International Airport. The aircraft plunged into a wooded valley at the end of the table-top runway before bursting into flames. Of the 166 people on board, 152 passengers and six crew members lost their lives. Just eight individuals survived, making it one of the worst aviation disasters in Indian civil aviation history.

Seven years later, on September 5, 2017, Flight 452, en route from Abu Dhabi to Cochin, suffered a runway excursion upon landing. The aircraft, carrying 108 occupants, veered off the runway at Cochin International Airport. Fortunately there were no injuries reported, and the plane was later returned to service.

Another serious incident unfolded on October 12, 2018, when Flight 611, a UAE-bound Boeing 737-800, suffered a tailstrike during take-off from Tiruchirappalli International Airport. The aircraft collided with the airport's localiser antenna and breached the boundary wall, causing significant structural damage to its undercarriage, landing gear, flight control surfaces and engine cowling. Despite the impact, the crew continued the flight toward Dubai, relying on seemingly normal instrumentation, a move that contravened Boeing’s tailstrike checklist. Once alerted mid-flight, the aircraft was diverted to Mumbai, where it landed safely.

Tragedy struck again, however, on August 7, 2020, when Flight 1344, another Boeing 737-800, overshot the table-top runway at Calicut International Airport, skidded off and fell into a valley. The aircraft broke into three sections, resulting in the deaths of 21 people, including both pilots, and injuries to at least 167 others.

More recently, on October 11 last year, Flight 613, operating between Tiruchirappalli and Sharjah, suffered a hydraulic failure in its landing gear assembly. The aircraft, carrying 114 passengers, was placed in a holding pattern over Trichy for more than two hours before executing a safe landing. All on board escaped unscathed.

These incidents, spanning over a decade, have prompted calls for stricter adherence to safety protocols and more rigorous oversight of India's low-cost carriers, particularly those operating in challenging runway environments.