On June 12, 2025, India witnessed one of the most tragic aviation disasters in recent memory when an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad. The aircraft was bound for Gatwick Airport near London and was carrying 242 people on board.
What was meant to be a routine international flight ended in devastation as the plane lost altitude almost immediately after takeoff, crashing into a residential area and erupting into flames. Only one person on board survived, and local reports suggest that an additional 24 people on the ground were also killed. The total death toll makes it the deadliest aviation incident globally in over a decade.
CCTV footage revealed that the plane had barely climbed when it began losing height and crashed into buildings, creating a massive fireball. The location of the crash, in a populated part of the city that included a medical college hostel, worsened the scale of the tragedy. Debris was scattered across the area, and emergency services rushed to the site, pulling out bodies and attempting to save survivors. The aftermath left behind not just physical destruction, but deep emotional trauma for the families affected and for the entire nation.
Initial information points to technical issues as the likely cause behind the crash. According to an official close to the investigation, key areas under scrutiny include the aircraft’s engines, the flaps used during takeoff, and the landing gear. One major anomaly that investigators are focusing on is the fact that the landing gear did not retract, which is considered highly unusual. Aviation experts have stated that leaving the landing gear down during takeoff can create excessive drag and impact the aircraft’s ability to climb. The failure to retract could point to a mechanical fault or a systems failure.
The engine performance is also a critical area being examined. The Dreamliner involved in the crash was equipped with GEnx engines manufactured by GE Aerospace. Following the crash, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India’s aviation regulator, ordered immediate safety checks on all Air India Dreamliners with GEnx engines. These checks include a one-time inspection of takeoff parameters, flight control system checks during transit inspections, and power assurance tests to confirm the engines are producing the required thrust.
Although some early speculation suggested a possible bird strike, officials familiar with the investigation have ruled this out as a key factor. Anti-terrorism squads have also joined the investigation to rule out any external interference, although no evidence has surfaced to support such a theory so far. Investigators from India, the United Kingdom, and the United States are working together, given that the aircraft was a Boeing-manufactured jet and the engines were supplied by a U.S. company.
One of the two black boxes, specifically the digital flight data recorder, has been recovered from the rooftop of a building hit by the aircraft. However, the cockpit voice recorder is yet to be located. The flight data recorder will offer insights into the aircraft’s technical condition, speed, altitude, and engine performance during the moments leading to the crash. The cockpit voice recorder, once found, will provide information on the communication between the pilots and with air traffic control, and possibly any alerts or system warnings that were active during takeoff.
This incident marks the first fatal crash involving a Boeing 787 Dreamliner since it entered commercial service in 2011. The aircraft involved had its first flight in December 2013 and was delivered to Air India in January 2014. Air India operates a fleet of over 30 Dreamliners, including both the 787-8 and 787-9 variants, and had plans to expand this fleet further. The airline, now owned by Tata Group following its acquisition from the government in 2022, had recently merged operations with Vistara, another airline under the Tata umbrella in partnership with Singapore Airlines.
Tata Group Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran addressed the incident in an internal communication, confirming that the company would fully cooperate with authorities and make all findings public. He acknowledged the grief caused by the crash and reiterated Tata’s commitment to uncovering the cause through full transparency.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner has previously faced scrutiny over manufacturing defects. In earlier years, issues related to fuselage joins and electrical system reliability had led to temporary grounding of aircraft. Deliveries of the 787 were also paused in the past due to quality control lapses. However, aviation experts have suggested that this particular crash may not be related to historical manufacturing faults. The aircraft in question had been in service for over a decade, and preliminary assessments do not point directly to any long-standing structural issues.
Jeff Guzzetti, a former investigator with both the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration, commented that the accident appears to have involved multiple factors and not a single point of failure. The aircraft lifted off the runway but failed to gain enough altitude, reaching only around 625 feet before descending rapidly. The airport’s altitude itself is about 200 feet, indicating that the jet barely climbed before losing control. Guzzetti emphasized that crash investigations usually uncover a chain of events rather than one isolated mistake or defect.
Air India has yet to publicly confirm the exact list of nationalities of those on board, but reports indicate the passengers included 169 Indian citizens, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese citizens, and one Canadian. The crash has left families across several countries grieving and awaiting answers.
Rescue operations concluded on the day following the crash. Emergency teams spent hours sifting through rubble to retrieve bodies and aircraft components that might assist the investigation. The search was also aimed at locating the missing cockpit voice recorder. Identifying victims and informing families has become the immediate priority for local authorities, along with ensuring support for the lone survivor, whose condition remains critical but stable.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the crash site in his home state of Gujarat and met with survivors being treated in hospital. In a public message, he described the scene as deeply distressing and offered condolences to the families of the victims. The Indian government has promised a thorough investigation and has not ruled out grounding the rest of the Dreamliner fleet temporarily if necessary. As of now, Air India has not received formal instructions to ground its remaining 787s.
GE Aerospace, which supplies the GEnx engines used in the aircraft, issued a statement supporting the DGCA’s safety directives and confirmed that it would assist investigators with any required technical details. The company stressed that safety remains its highest concern.
The investigation is expected to take several months, and a final report may not be ready until next year. Until then, both domestic and international aviation authorities will continue to review findings, assess risks, and possibly implement further measures to avoid future tragedies. The impact on Boeing may be less immediate, given the company’s current order backlog and production schedule, but this event will likely renew scrutiny on all safety procedures involving both manufacturers and airlines.
The crash has shaken the aviation sector in India and has raised questions about aircraft maintenance standards, pilot training, and emergency response preparedness. For the families affected, no explanation will ever fully account for the loss they have suffered. However, a clear and honest investigation remains essential to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.
