Breaking News: India Plane Crash with 242 People on Board

A Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliner aircraft operated by Air India that was bound for London crashed shortly after taking off in Ahmedabad, in what stands to be the worst accident involving the US planemaker’s most advanced widebody airliner. 
Flight AI171 was carrying 242 passengers and crew. Video footage shared on social media showed a giant plume of smoke engulfing the crash site, with no reports of survivors. 
The aircraft entered a slow descent shortly after taking off, with its landing gear still extended before exploding into a huge fireball upon impact. The crash took place in a residential area, which could mean a higher death toll. The twin-engine plane had reached an altitude of 625 feet (190.5 meters) at a speed of 174 knots, according to data from Flightradar24. 
The accident extends a series of serious and fatal incidents in the civil aviation industry this year, including a mid-air collision in Washington early in 2025 between a military helicopter and an aircraft. Air India is in the middle of a strategic turnaround that includes a huge aircraft order as it seeks to tap growing demand from a rising Indian middle class. 
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the accident is “heartbreaking beyond words,” according to a statement, adding that he’s been in touch with ministers and authorities assisting the salvage operation.
Boeing shares fell 7% in premarket US trading. The 787 is the company’s most advanced in-service aircraft and is popular with airlines because it is more fuel efficient thanks to its use of lightweight composite materials. Boeing said it’s “aware of initial reports and are working to gather more information.”

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
This is a breaking news update from Bloomberg instant reaction
and analysis from our three thousand journalists and analysts around
the world. We continue to follow the developing story in
India and Air India jet headed for London's Gatwick Airport
has crashed in western India. Bloomberg's John Tucker has the

(00:22):
very latest.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
John, Yeah, this is a seven eighty seven Dreamliner aircraft
Nathan flight AI one seventy one, as you said, traveling
from Akmadabad Airport in India to Gatwick crash shortly after takeoff. Now,
footage from the scene this morning shows very little that's
even recognizable, so we can say unlikely anybody on the

(00:43):
plane survived. Probably It also appears to have hit a
residential building, so people on the ground may have been injured.
There is also video that shows the aircraft with its
landing gear still extended shortly after takeoff and then slowly
descending before explode into a huge fireball. Now the airliner
had reached out to six hundred and twenty five feet

(01:05):
this according to data from flight Trader, this is a
seven eighty seven Dreamliner wide body twin engine plane. This
is the first crash ever of a Boeing seven eighty
seven aircraft. That's, at least according to the Aviation Safety
Network Database, the seven eighty seven, of course, the company's
most advanced in service aircraft. It's popular with airlines because

(01:26):
it's more fuel efficient thanks to lightweight composite materials, and
this particular aircraft was almost twelve years old, part of
the Air India's fleet of about thirty four Boeing seven
eighty sevens. The airline itself in the middle of a
strategic turnaround that includes a big aircraft order, and as
soon as we get further details on this, we'll bring

(01:48):
it to you immediately right here on Bloomberg Radio. Nathan.

Speaker 1 (01:51):
Joining us now is Bloomberg News Chief Global Aviation correspondent
Sid Philip and Sid. As we continue to gather details
on this crash, it seems as though it's becoming increasingly grim.
What is the very latest that you can tell us now?

Speaker 3 (02:03):
Good morning, Good morning. So we're trying to figure out
what the matest is in terms of what the reasons
for the crash are. But we do know that there
were two hundred and forty two people on board, including
the crew. We do know that one hundred and sixty
nine of them were Indian citizens and there were also
some fifty something UK citizens on board, and we're still
waiting to see what the casualty numbers are and if

(02:26):
there were any survivors. It looks unlikely there were any survivors.
We're also trying to figure out what the casualties on
the ground was because we understand that the aircraft crashed
into a residential building and with some reports from the
local government saying that it was a doctor's residence. So
it does seem like a very very very very tragic
accident at the moment, and we will try and find

(02:48):
out the details in terms of what really went wrong
with the aircraft. I mean, this is the first ever
fatal accident for the seven eighty seven. I mean, this
is a technologically advanced aircraft. This is going flagship at
the moment in terms of being able to be very
it's very carbon fiber aircraft with very advanced technology. And

(03:09):
so this is a very big glow for the aircraft
program because we haven't seen a fatal crash of it
so far.

Speaker 1 (03:16):
And it's coming at a time, of course, when Boeing
is in the midst of a turnaround plan. And we
remember all the issues surrounding the automation technology on board
some of Boeing's most advanced aircraft. Based on what we
know so far in terms of the footage that's come out,
what can we ascertain as to what potentially could have
caused this set.

Speaker 3 (03:38):
At the moment, it's still too I mean, we do
know that the plane crashed shortly after takeoff, so it
was according to flight Raighter twenty four data, it was
only six hundred and twenty five feet in the air
when it crashed. So it does seem like it has
happened shortly after takeoff. And we don't really know the
reasons in terms of what went wrong, but something went
catastrophically wrong for the aircraft to crash. We do know

(03:59):
that this aircraft was older seven eighty seven, It was
twelve years almost twelve years old. It had been in
Erandia's fleet since twenty the end of twenty thirteen, and
so essentially we're trying to figure out what really went
on with the aircraft. I mean, this is obviously Boeing
and aer India are in the midst of a turnaround.

(04:19):
I mean, Boeing has been under lot of scrutiny as
you mentioned for the seven three seven Max, which is
a different aircraft, but there's been a lot of pressure
on Boeing to up its manufacturing quality and processes. But
this aircraft obviously has been in service for a while now,
and India at the same time is also in the
midst of a turnaround effort. It was state owned for
many many years and it's finally it's been privatized under

(04:42):
the Tata Group, and Tata Group announced massive expansion plans
for the airline, including the over five hundred plane order
from both Airbus and Boeing. They're revitalizing their fleet, they're
revitalizing their destinations, and they are sort of this would
be a massive blow to those efforts because the airline
has been sort of talking up the efforts to increase services,

(05:04):
increase destinations, add more capacity, and so this will sort
of make them pause and sort of just make everyone
look at say what real he went wrong and as
certain the causes and then try and make amends on that.

Speaker 1 (05:17):
Of course, air safety incidents like this are so rare
around the world, but what is the air safety record
like in India set.

Speaker 3 (05:26):
So this is the this is the worst aviation accident
over in almost three decades, so, I mean the last
major crash that had a similar death doll was back
in nineteen ninety six, so this is again a very
rare incident. India's got a fairly safe aviation environment and

(05:49):
they haven't had any aviation safety incidents in recent years.
But at the same time, I mean, aviation in general
has seen a lot of fatal accidents in recent years.
I mean, we obviously had the DC crash back in January,
and we've sort of had other fatal incidents, which is
kind to ascertain what really went wrong, but I mean,
there has been a spate of aviation incidents, so we
will wait to see what happened, all.

Speaker 1 (06:10):
Right, Well, we'll continue monitoring the situation as well in
gathering more details. Thank you for this. Sid Philip, chief
global aviation correspondent for Bloomberg News with us this morning.