Alarming video footage has emerged showing that a packed London-bound Air India passenger plane crashed into a residential area shortly after takeoff on Thursday morning.
The tragic aviation disaster in India has left dozens dead and raised serious questions about the safety of modern air travel, once again involving a Boeing aircraft.
Air India Flight 171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner bound for London Gatwick, crashed just minutes after takeoff from Ahmedabad Airport.
The widebody jet was carrying 242 passengers, including 53 Britons, one Canadian, and several Portuguese nationals.
The plane was only in the air for a few minutes before slamming into a residential area near the airport, sparking a massive fireball and destroying a building housing doctors.
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Authorities are still working to determine the official cause, but aviation experts say the crash occurred during the most critical—and dangerous—phase of flight, and preliminary data suggest the aircraft never reached proper climb altitude.
“Whatever happened, it happened fast, and right at the most critical phase of flight,” said Lt. Col. John R. Davidson (Ret.), a former U.S. Air Force pilot and aviation safety consultant.
Flight tracking data shows the plane barely reached 625 feet—far below the safe climb-out level—and then abruptly began to descend.
Multiple aviation specialists have speculated about the cause, ranging from bird strikes to engine failure, or even improper takeoff configuration.
One former pilot suggested that both engines may have lost power simultaneously, a scenario reminiscent of other catastrophic incidents.
“The takeoff was perfect,” said Captain Saurabh Bhatnagar.
“And just short of taking the gear up, the aircraft started descending, which can happen only in case the engine loses power or the aircraft stops developing lift.”
Others compared the flight pattern to deadly accidents such as Spanair Flight 5022 and Flydubai Flight 981, where a combination of environmental and mechanical failures proved fatal just after takeoff.
To make matters worse, footage captured the Dreamliner descending nose-up, with its landing gear still deployed, before crashing into a heavily populated neighborhood.
Several bystanders reportedly leapt from upper floors to escape the inferno.
“This aircraft never truly made it airborne in a meaningful way,” Davidson concluded.
This crash adds to a troubling trend of safety failures involving Boeing jets, further eroding public trust in the U.S. aircraft manufacturer.
Just six months ago, a 737 crashed in South Korea, killing 179.
High-profile disasters involving Boeing planes—Lion Air 610 in 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines 302 in 2019—also loom large in the public memory.
Boeing shares plunged 8% in pre-market trading following Wednesday’s crash, and the company has already released a statement saying it’s “aware” of the incident and is “gathering more information.”
But critics say “gathering information” is not enough, not when hundreds of lives hang in the balance.
The crash is likely to renew calls for tighter federal oversight, especially from those who believe the FAA and other agencies have been far too cozy with major manufacturers.
Perhaps most concerning: everything looked perfect on paper.
The pilots were seasoned—Captain Sumeet Sabharwal had 8,200 hours of flight time, and weather conditions were reportedly clear, dry, and sunny, with no turbulence or strong winds.
“There is no indication at this stage that turbulence or other weather conditions were a factor,” said Professor Paul Williams, an atmospheric science expert from the University of Reading.
The plane slammed into a building that housed medical personnel from BJ Medical College and Civil Hospital.
Eyewitnesses described a massive fireball, with people jumping from upper floors to escape the blaze.
Fire crews worked to extinguish the flames and recovered at least 30 bodies early on.
“We saw people jumping from the second and third floors to save themselves. The plane was in flames,” said one resident.
Debris from the aircraft, including landing gear and fuselage pieces, was seen lodged inside a canteen, with half-eaten food still on tables—a snapshot of daily life shattered in seconds.
Given the number of British casualties, the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch is expected to join Indian and U.S. investigators.
These inquiries are known to take years, too long, many argue, for families seeking closure and travelers demanding answers.
British Foreign Minister David Lammy and Prime Minister Keir Starmer issued statements of sympathy.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the crash “heartbreaking beyond words” and directed full federal support to recovery efforts.
Air India, now owned by the Tata Group, issued a brief statement confirming the disaster.
A support team has been activated, and emergency contact centers have been set up.
This tragedy isn’t just a national crisis for India—it’s a global wake-up call about the fragility of modern air travel, the risks of institutional complacency, and the urgent need for accountability from companies like Boeing and the regulators who enable them.
For families mourning the loss of loved ones, there are no words.
For the rest of the world watching, it’s a question we’ve asked too many times already:
What went wrong this time—and why wasn’t it prevented?
There were 242 people on board the flight, including 12 crew members.
Air India said the passengers included 169 Indians, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese citizens, and one Canadian.
So far, around 100 bodies have been recovered.
No survivors are expected to be found.
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