Air India plane crash: In first presser, Centre reveals what exactly happened on June 12

Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, during the press conference, said that the plane crash near Ahmedabad airport shook the entire nation.

The ministry of civil aviation on Saturday said the Air India aircraft that crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12, killing at least 260 people, had climbed to just 650 feet before it began to lose altitude.

Remains of the crashed Air India plane lie on a building, in Ahmedabad, Saturday, June 14, 2025.(PTI)

In the first press briefing since the aircraft crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12, civil aviation secretary Samir Kumar Sinha said the aircraft crashed into a medical hostel complex in Meghaninagar exactly one minute after takeoff. Follow LIVE updates here.

What aviation ministry said in first briefing

• “After reaching at a height of 650 feet, the aircraft started to lose height. The pilot gave a Mayday call to the ATC at 1:39 PM (June 12), civil aviation secretary said at the press briefing. 
• "As per the ATC, when it tried to contact the aircraft then there was no response. After exactly one minute, the aircraft crashed in Meghani Nagar, situated about 2 km from the airport,” Sinha added.

• Sinha also pointed out that prior to Thursday's accident, the aircraft had completed the Paris-Delhi-Ahmedabad sector flight without any trouble.

• Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, who was also present at the briefing, said that the last two days have been extremely difficult.
• “The accident near Ahmedabad airport shook the entire nation. My deepest condolences are with family members who have lost their loved ones. I have also lost my father in a road accident. So, to a certain extent, I can understand the pain and anguish that the family members are feeling,” he said.
• The minister further added that a surveillance of Air India's Boeing 787 fleet has started as per the direction of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. “Of the 34 Dreamliners in India, eight have already undergone inspection,” he said at the briefing.

Air India plane crash

 

Air India's Boeing 787 Dreamliner (AI 171) flight with 242 passengers and crew members on board crashed into a medical hostel complex in Meghaninagar moments after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12.

One person survived the crash, while 241 on board were killed. Of the total passengers onboard, there were 169 Indians, 53 British, one Canadian and seven Portuguese nationals, apart from 12 crew members. 

Over 20 people were killed in the medical college complex, where the doomed flight crashed.

Earlier, aviation experts told HT that the aircraft’s flight profile — descending while maintaining a nose-up attitude — might suggest a sudden and severe power loss. They cautioned, however, that while such a descent profile is consistent with engine failure, the exact cause cannot be confirmed until later after investigation.