Air India Plane Crash Report: What Happened to Flight 171?

Amid a recent streak of plane crashes and aviation issues, an Air India plane crashed in the city of Ahmedabad, India, on June 12, 2025. With 242 people on board the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, flight 171 struck a medical school hostel, and the area was engulfed in flames and smoke as first responders rushed to the scene.

The incident happened just days before Boeing and rival company Airbus were set to appear at the Paris Air Show, where both showcase their aircraft.

Below, get updates on the investigation of the Air India plane crash.

Air India confirms that flight AI171, from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, was involved in an accident today after take-off.

The flight, which departed from Ahmedabad at 1338 hrs, was carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft. Of these, 169 are…

— Air India (@airindia) June 12, 2025

How Many People Died in the Air India Plane Crash?

Local and multiple media outlets reported that the bodies of victims were being uncovered by first responders on the ground. According to the Associated Press, Police Commissioner G.S. Malik said, “As the plane has fallen in a residential area which also had offices, some locals would have also died. Exact figures on casualties are being ascertained.”

Only one person out of the 242 people on board survived. The rest died, in addition to 29 people on the ground, who were killed from the crash.

Local Indian TV stations reported that the plane hit the top of a dining room in a medical college hostel.

Survivor Vishwash Kumar Ramesh told the Hindustan Times that passengers heard a “loud noise” just 30 seconds after taking off, “and then the plane crashed.”

“It all happened so quickly,” he said from a hospital bed. Outlet reported that the British national sustained “impact injuries” to his chest, eyes and feet from the crash. He was returning to the U.K. after visiting family in India.

How Did Air India Flight 171 Crash?

The exact cause of the Air India plane crash has not been determined yet, but CEO of Safety Operating Systems John M. Cox told the AP that the aircraft appeared to have crashed with its nose up and wasn’t climbing.

“At this point, it’s very, very, very early, we don’t know a whole lot,” he explained. “But the 787 has very extensive flight data monitoring — the parameters on the flight data recorder are in the thousands — so once we get that recorder, they’ll be able to know pretty quickly what happened.”

Moreover, per People, the cockpit made a Mayday call just seconds after takeoff.

One month after the crash, India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau released its preliminary investigation report, which revealed that fuel switches were cut off shortly after the plane took off, per NBC News. The switches were somehow changed from “run” to “cutoff” to two engines on the Dreamliner aircraft, the report stated.

Furthermore, the report noted that the pilots wondered why the switches were cut off. “In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so,” the report read.

How Many Boeing 787 Crashes Have Happened?

The June 2025 Air India disaster was the first Boeing 787 plane crash. However, the company has faced setbacks with its 737 Max aircraft over the past several years with manufacturing and safety concerns. Among the most notable incidents was when the emergency exit of one plane popped off mid-flight.

The last major passenger plane crash to occur in India was in 2020 after an Air India Express Boeing 737 slid off a runway on a hill. Twenty-one people died as a result, according to multiple outlets.

In response to the Air India crash, Boeing released a statement via X, which read, “We are in contact with Air India regarding Flight 171 and stand ready to support them. Our thoughts are with the passengers, crew, first responders and all affected.’