Ahmedabad Plane Crash

On June 12, 2025, Air India Flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner (VT-ANB), crashed shortly after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad at 1:38 PM. The flight was heading towards London’s Gatwick Airport. According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), there were 242 people on board the aircraft: 230 passengers, 2 pilots, and 10 cabin crew members. Among the passengers were 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, 7 Portuguese nationals, and 1 Canadian national.

Several casualties are feared, though official numbers have yet to be confirmed. Air India in a statement confirmed the crash and set up a dedicated passenger hotline number for information on flight Al171 crash: 1800 5691 444. Ahmedabad City Police shares numbers for emergency police services: 07925620359 and Operational Control Room activated at the Ministry of Civil Aviation also shares a number for emergency: 011-24610843 and 9650391859.

The aircraft issued a 'MAYDAY' distress call to Air Traffic Control, but no further communication was received. The plane crashed into the Meghani Nagar residential area just outside the airport perimeter, and heavy black smoke was seen rising from the crash site. The flight was under the command of Pilot Sumit Sabharwal and Co-pilot Clive Kunder. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) confirmed that three teams (90 personnel) from Gandhinagar were immediately deployed, with three more teams moving in from Vadodara.

BOOM has debunked misinformation around the Ahmedabad plane crash. BOOM fact-checked the video claiming to show the visual from the Air India flight that crashed minutes after take-off in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. BOOM found that the footage was from the crash of a Yeti Airlines flight near Nepal's Pokhara on January 15, 2023, which led to the death of all the 72 passengers on board. The video shows a live stream by an Indian passenger, in the moments leading up to the crash.