Dramatic video shows the moment Air India plane carrying 242 people crashed in Ahmedabad
The video footage shows the Air India plane flying at a dangerously low altitude before it slammed into the ground in Ahmedabad and exploded on impact.
An Air India Ltd. Boeing Co. 787 aircraft crashed in Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon, bursting into a massive ball of fire just minutes after takeoff.
Dramatic video footage shows the plane flying at a dangerously low altitude before it slammed into the ground and exploded on impact. Flames and thick black smoke were seen rising from the crash site, prompting immediate emergency response.
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Flight 171 crashed shortly after takeoff. The flight was carrying 242 passengers and crew. The airline had reached an altitude of 625 feet at a speed of 174 kilometre per second, according to data from Flightradar24. Social media videos showed black smoke billowing from afar.
Air India’s fleet includes 128 aircraft from Airbus SE and Boeing, according to the carrier’s website.
Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, the director general of the directorate of civil aviation, told news agency Associated Press that Air India flight AI 171, a Boeing 787-8, crashed into a residential area called Meghani Nagar five minutes after taking off at 1:38pm.
There were 232 passengers and 12 crew members onboard the flight, which had been bound for London’s Gatwick Airport, Kidwai said.
Gatwick posted on X that it could confirm the flight, which had been due to arrive at 6:25pm. in London, had crashed on departure.
Union aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu posted on X that rescue teams have been mobilised, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support at the site.
“We are on highest alert. I am personally monitoring the situation,” he said.
The 787 Dreamliner is a widebody, twin-engine plane. This is the first crash ever of a Boeing 787 aircraft, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.
The aircraft was introduced in 2009 and more than 1,000 have been delivered to dozens of airlines, according to the flightradar24 website.
