Why Did the Air India Plane Crash Happen? What We Know So Far About the Tragedy and Sole Survivor

mrbill | Sport

14/06/2025

Air India Flight AI171 tragically crashed seconds after taking off

Aircraft landing gear at the crash site of Air India Ltd. flight AI171 on June 12, 2025 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.Credit :

Siddharaj Solanki/Bloomberg via Getty

NEED TO KNOW

• Air India Flight AI171 crashed on June 12
• The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was a passenger jet bound for London from India
• Out of the 242 people aboard the plane, all but one person died from the crash

More than 290 people have likely died after an Air India flight crashed on June 12.

Shortly after Air India Flight AI171 took off from Ahmedabad Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1:38 p.m. local time, it crashed into a residential area called Meghani Nagar.

Air India confirmed that there were 230 passengers and 12 crew members on board. The passengers comprised of Indian, British and Portuguese nationals, as well as one person from Canada. Air India has not released an official number of people who have died from the crash, but CNN estimated that the death toll has escalated to over 290 people.

The airline later confirmed that a British man was the "sole survivor" out of the total 242 people on board. The man, who has been identified as a British citizen "of Indian origin," has since spoken out about his experience.

An official cause of the crash has not been disclosed, but investigators confirmed to ABC News that they recovered two black boxes from the crash site. Video of just before the crash also shows the plane did not rise high into the air after takeoff before it began gliding back down.

From the identified victims to what may have caused the crash, here's everything to know about Air India Flight 171.

What caused the Air India Flight 171 crash?

Aircraft debris at the crash site of Air India Ltd. flight AI171 on June 12, 2025 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.

Siddharaj Solanki/Bloomberg via Getty

An official cause of the crash has not officially been released. However, the airline and investigators have shared details about what took place ahead of the crash.

Air India confirmed that flight AI171 from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport to London Gatwick took off on June 12, 2025, at 1:38 p.m. local time. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was scheduled to land in London at 6:25 p.m., but it crashed just a few minutes later.

Just seconds after taking off, the cockpit gave a Mayday call to air traffic control, CNN reported. CCTV footage viewed by BBC showed the plane being airborne for just 30 seconds before it plummeted to the ground.

"There would have been no time for him to react if he lost both engines," one pilot told BBC after the crash.

Shortly after news of the crash broke, several videos surfaced on social media that showed the airplane falling into a residential area before exploding. Among other signs the plane was acting oddly, pilots spoke to CNBC about the videos and noted that the landing gear still seemed to be down after taking off, which they said was unusual.

The plane crashed into the residential area of Meghani Nagar, and people on the ground were reportedly among the victims. The majority of the plane landed in a medical college hostel, while the tail was photographed stuck in a concrete building, per the Associated Press.

How will investigators determine the cause of the crash?

Rescue personnel looking at the wreckage at the site of the Air India flight crash on June 12, 2025 in Ahmedabad, India.

Raju Shinde/Hindustan Times via Getty

Crash investigators will look at a myriad of factors to determine what led to the plane's crash. One of the main pieces of evidence that investigators will look at are the airplane's flight recorders, or so-called "black boxes" — which include flight data and audio from the cockpit.

Shortly after officials began scouring through the wreckage, Indian officials confirmed to ABC News that both of the two black boxes aboard the aircraft had been recovered. The official explained to the outlet that one black box was damaged but will still be useable.

"This marks an important step forward in the investigation," Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, the Indian union minister of civil aviation, said, per the BBC. "This will significantly aid the enquiry into the incident."

The Ministry of Civil Aviation is now establishing a committee to investigate the incident, promising to assess "the root cause of the crash" and "contributing factors, including mechanical failure, human error, weather conditions, regulatory compliances and other reasons," it said in a June 13 statement.

How many people died in the Air India crash?

Prateek Joshi poses for a selfie with his family during Air India flight.

Everyone — except one person — aboard Air India Flight AI171 died as a result of the crash, the airline has confirmed. There were 242 total people onboard, including 230 passengers and 12 crew members. Of the passengers, there were 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian, according to BBC.

"Air India offers its deepest condolences to the families of the deceased," the airline said in a statement shared afterward. "Our efforts now are focused entirely on the needs of all those affected, their families and loved ones."

In addition to those who died inside the plane, there were additional victims who died when the plane plummeted to the residential area. A health official confirmed to BBC that at least eight locals, including four medical students, died when the plane fell on the hostel.

The complete list of victims has not been released, but family members and loved ones have come forward in identifying them.

One photo showed a family of five — including two parents and their three children — smiling while sitting aboard the flight. The doctor's employer later identified the father as Prateek Joshi, a radiologist at Royal Derby Hospital and Queen's Hospital Burton, and the mother as Doctor Komi Vyas. The Times of India later identified their children as daughter Miraya and twin sons Pradyut and Nakul.

Other victims who have been identified, according to BBC, include British couple Ashok and Shobhana Patel; British citizen Ketan Shah; British couple Akeel Nanabawa and Hannaa Vorajee and their daughter Sara Nanabawa; British couple Adam and Hasina Taju and their son-in-law Altafhusen Patel; British couple Fiongal and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek; British couple Javed and Mariam Syed and their two children Zayn and Amani; the former chief minister of Gujarat Vijay Rupani; crew member Singson; British grandmother Raxa Modha and her grandson Rudra; British family Hemaxi Shantilal and Girish Lagli with their two children, Aadiv and Taksvi Girish; and British sisters Dhir and Heer Baxi.

In addition, News18 later reported that the captain of the plane was Sumeet Sabharwal and the first officer was Clive Kundar. The Canadian passenger was identified as Dr. Nirali Sureshkumar Patel, according to CTV News.

Also among the victims is Ajay Kumar Ramesh, whose brother, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, is believed to be the sole survivor of the plane crash.

Did anyone survive the Air India crash?

Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah meeting British plane crash survivor Vishwash Kumar Ramesh.

Ministry of Home Affairs India via AP

Air India confirmed on June 12 that one man, who is "a British national of Indian origin," had survived.

Ahmedabad Police Commissioner G.S. Malik later told news agency ANI that the one confirmed survivor was traveling in seat 11A. The BBC later obtained a flight manifest that showed the man sitting in seat 11A was Vishwash Kumar Ramesh.

Malik later told ANI that the survivor "has been in the hospital and is under treatment."

How did the Air India survivor live?

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the crash site.

Press Information Bureau (PIB) / Handout/Anadolu via Getty

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh was seated in emergency row 11A when he escaped through the nearby emergency exit, according to The New York Times. Ramesh was seen stumbling to an ambulance near the crash site and telling the crowd that he came "from inside" the plane.

He was subsequently taken to Ahmedabad Civil Hospital where he was treated for his injuries. Shortly after officials confirmed that there was one survivor, various Indian media outlets shared photos of Ramesh laying in a hospital bed.

"I don’t know how I survived. I saw people dying in front of my eyes – the air hostesses, and two people I saw near me… I walked out of the rubble,” the man, whom local outlets have named Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, told DD News from his hospital bed in Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, per a translation posted by the Hindustan Times.

Ramesh recalled taking off and then feeling like the plane was "stuck in the air" in the first "5 to 10 seconds."

"Suddenly, the lights started flickering – green and white – then the plane rammed into some establishment that was there,” he claimed.

Ramesh explained that he was sitting in a part of the plane that didn't directly hit a building and was sitting next to an emergency exit. Ramesh said that he unbuckled his seatbelt after crash and escaped through "some space" in the emergency exit.

“When I saw the exit, I thought I could come out. I tried, and I did. Maybe the people who were on the other side of the plane weren’t able to," Ramesh added.

Ramesh was reportedly returning to the U.K. with his late brother, Ajay Kumar Ramesh. Their third brother, Nayan Kumar Ramesh, later spoke to The Times about learning about the crash.

“When the crash happened, my brother video called us and all he could say was ‘I have no idea how I survived or exited the plane,' " he said. “He kept saying, ‘I can’t see my brother or anybody else.’ All he was worried about on the phone was telling us, ‘Find Ajay, you must find Ajay.' "

“The family is devastated, shattered, heartbroken," Nayan added.