Air India flight AI171 Boeing 787-8 crash in Ahmedabad

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Flyaway

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Updates on link below.

Flight AI171 included 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese and one Canadian​

Air India has said that the passengers on its flight AI171 included 169 Indiannationals, 53 British, seven Portugueseand one Canadian.

In a statement on X, Air India said:

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 Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, one Canadian national and seven Portuguese nationals.
The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals. We have also set up a dedicated passenger hotline number 1800 5691 444 to provide more information.
Air India is giving its full cooperation to the authorities investigating this incident.
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www.theguardian.com

Air India flight to London Gatwick crashes in Ahmedabad with over 240 people onboard – latest updates

Air India says 242 people were onboard flight AI171 including 169 Indians and 53 Britons
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
 
No silly speculation from me by this point. Just saying that, considering the descent rate and the full tanks and the explosion, we can unfortunately brace for a no survivor situation. And with 252 killed, it will immediately go into the top twenty deadliest crashes...
 
Archibald said:
No silly speculation from me by this point. Just saying that, considering the descent rate and the full tanks and the explosion, we can unfortunately brace for a no survivor situation. And with 252 killed, it will immediately go into the top twenty deadliest crashes...
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Also unless I’m misinterpreting the images it appears to have come down in a residential area.

Police chief of the area reporting to AFP no survivors and casualties on the ground.
 
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Apparently it crashed 5 minutes after take off
 

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The video appears to support engine failure as a likely cause. To me it appears that the flaps had been retracted already or had not been set. Given the seniority of the pilot in command I find it hard to believe that an error such as this could be responsible.

Regardless, prayers for all on board and to their grieving families.
 
According India official, 242 Passengers and 105 residents have died during crash.
NTSB and Boeing want to help in investigation why this Boeing Dreamliner crash
see Post #31 for update

Source:
www.vrt.be

LIVE Zwarte doos teruggevonden na crash waarbij meer dan 240 mensen omkwamen | VRT NWS Nieuws

LIVE Een vliegtuig met meer dan 200 passagiers aan boord is neergestort in Ahmedabad, een stad in het westen van India. Het toestel had naar Londen moeten vliegen, maar stortte neer kort na het opstijgen. Bijna alle passagiers zouden zijn omgekomen en ook verschillende mensen op de grond zouden...
www.vrt.be www.vrt.be
 
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They found a single survivor in 11A as reported by Firstpost. Approximately 200 confirmed dead, however there's a slim but existent possibility of more survivors.

www.firstpost.com

Ahmedabad Plane Crash Updates: DGCA orders enhanced inspection of Air India's Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet

Air India plane crash updates: Aviation watchdog DGCA on Friday ordered enhanced safety inspection of Air India’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet powered by GEnx engines, a day after 241 people onboard died in the plane crash in Ahmedabad
www.firstpost.com www.firstpost.com
 
To think that it was a 787 Dreamliner too, we will know soon enough about the cause of the crash. Don't know if there will be a possible recovery of the flight and data recorders and what state that they are in.
 
FighterJock said:
To think that it was a 787 Dreamliner too, we will know soon enough about the cause of the crash. Don't know if there will be a possible recovery of the flight and data recorders and what state that they are in.
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I am inclined to think the data recorders are intact. As we know, the tail section survived the crash with relatively little damage. They are designed to survive such an impact, and it being a Dreamliner, they probably did. 1749739120173.png
We also have testimonies from the survivor and witnesses. Both reported hearing loud noises/explosions before the crash.
 
FighterJock said:
To think that it was a 787 Dreamliner too, we will know soon enough about the cause of the crash.
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Don't expect the final report anytime soon, and we may not know the precise cause until that's published.

As for it being a Dreamliner, it doesn't really matter what marque it is, we expect exemplary safety from airliners nowadays. We've come a long way from the days when we considered several hull losses a year the normal state of affairs, and that really wasn't all that long ago.
 
DWG said:
Just because you hear a bang doesn't mean it's an explosion.
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Yes, of course. This is just speculation and subject to an actual investigation before conclusions can be drawn. I am only repeating what was stated by the witnesses of the event.
 
lancer21 said:
Not sure if posted earlier, CCTV video of the whole incident.
https://twitter.com/x/status/1933167706234388838
View: https://x.com/zhao_dashuai/status/1933167706234388838
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Two comments having watched that:

1) there's a very distinct dust swirl on liftoff, not sure how typical that is for takeoffs at Ahmedabad (and also whether that's a normal point on the runway for liftoff).

2) AoA appears to remain pretty much stable throughout, there's a touch of tail wag just before impact, but that's about it for attitude. What there is is a distinct change in the flight-path vector, levelling momentarily about the 30s mark and then descending steadily. It suggests to me that there's a significant reduction in thrust levels, but why that happened is a question for the investigators.
 
www.flightglobal.com

US investigators head to India to assist with 787-8 inquiry

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is sending a team of investigators to India to assist with the probe into the deadly 12 June crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8.
www.flightglobal.com www.flightglobal.com
The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is sending a team of investigators to India to assist with the probe into the deadly 12 June crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8.

Operating as Air India flight 171, the widebody came down in an urban area shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad for a flight to London Gatwick airport.

Video posted on social media shows the jet descending in a nose-high attitude before bursting into flames after impact.

Powered by twin GE Aerospace GEnx turbofans, the 787-8 departed from Ahmedabad at 13:38 local time and was carrying 242 passengers and crew, says Air India. Initial reports indicate the crash was a mass-casualty event.


“The NTSB will be leading a team of US investigators travelling to India to assist the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau with its investigation into the crash of an Air India Boeing 787 in Ahmedabad,” the US agency says.

“Per international protocols under the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Annex 13, all information on the investigation will be provided by the Government of India,” it adds.

Additionally, the US Federal Aviation Administration says it is “ready to launch a team immediately in coordination with the NTSB”.

Boeing says it is “in contact with Air India regarding flight 171 and [we] stand ready to support them. Our thoughts are with the passengers, crew, first responders and all affected”.

[snip]
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Second survivor was reportedly found. Identity currently unconfirmed. Police can not say for certain if they we on the plane or on the ground, so official survivor count remains at 1.

www.independent.co.uk

Air India plane crash latest: Briton ‘miraculously survives crash’

Boeing 787 dreamliner headed for Gatwick airport crashed close to Ahmedebad airport
www.independent.co.uk www.independent.co.uk
 
According India official, 241 Passengers and 48 residents have died during crash.
they found one survivor

Source:
www.vrt.be

Vliegtuigcrash India - Lokale politie meldt zeker 290 doden bij vliegtuigcrash in India, mogelijk heeft 1 passagier incident overleefd | VRT NWS: nieuws

Een vliegtuig met meer dan 200 passagiers aan boord is neergestort in Ahmedabad, een stad in het westen van India. Het toestel had naar Londen moeten vliegen, maar stortte neer kort na het opstijgen. Alle passagiers zouden zijn omgekomen, en ook op de grond zouden mogelijk nog 105 doden zijn...
www.vrt.be www.vrt.be
 
This whole thing is surreal. I spent over thirty years in the aviation industry and I don't think I've seen anything like this. Absolutely amazing that anyone survived. I would expect there to be an initial report released once the Flight Data and Cockpit Voice Recorders are recovered and analyzed. Hope they survived! To state the obvious, "Bangs", flap deployment (or the lack thereof), gear down and an apparent lack of power will only make some sense once we see where and when all these things happened. Why these happened as they did may take a little long to figure out.
 
As Michel Van has said, it does not seem like the flaps were not deployed. First image is from the CCTV footage, second is a conventional 787 on takeoff. Notice how the wing appears perfectly thin with all flaps retracted on the CCTV? Once again, only speculation, for the flaps may seem to be retracted on video due to poor quality or sun reflection.
1749742792410.png 1749742805885.png
 
Curious if they did not apply TOGA thrust due to asymmetric thrust issues on takeoff (B787 has TO, TO1, TO2 power lever settings based on runway, aircraft, and environmental conditions). Once out of ground effect (approximately one wingspan distance from the ground, in this case approximately 200 feet) the effects of induced drag on the aircraft increases. They may have raised the flaps to reduce induced drag, but had not raised the gear (usually upon an indication of a positive rate of climb) to clean up the aircraft. This could be an indication of the workload experienced and the pilots being behind the aircraft. Also, the aircraft likely lost the engine immediately after passing through V1 (Go-No Go for an engine failure on takeoff) which would reason why they elected to takeoff instead of stopping on the remaining distance of the runway and the Mayday call made once airborne.
 
Adler said:
only speculation, for the flaps may seem to be retracted on video due to poor quality or sun reflection.
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I think people are being optimistic in assuming they can reliably determine flaps status from the video we've seen to date. It's not just lighting and quality, but also perspective - given a view from behind/below, is the flap going to project visibly below the wing when the aircraft is pitched slightly up and the flaps slightly down? There's going to be a whole range of position and attitude combinations where deployed flaps just get swallowed up in the apparent thickness of the wing, or are trailing-edge on to the observer.
 
Moose said:
The video posted on various socials looks a lot like a double-engine-out. Bad fuel? Bird strike?
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Why? What video? In the video of the Guardian article linked above, it seems that both engines can be clearly heard very loud as the plane passes by...?
 
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