Next Big Thing: With investigations likely to span months or even a year, the company’s products will face intensified scrutiny, which is particularly troubling given Boeing’s recent string of crises involving manufacturing defects, management failures, and eroded credibility.

Handout picture taken and released by the Indian Central Industrial Security Force on June 12, 2025 shows the back of an Air India plane after it crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad. The London-bound flight crashed on June 12 in India’s western city of AhmedaWorld Timesbad with 242 on board. Photo: AFP

An Air India plane bound for London with 242 people on board crashed minutes after taking off from India’s western city of Ahmedabad on Thursday, the airline and police said.

More than 290 people were killed in the plane crash on Thursday, a police offi cer told Reuters.

According to local news agency ANI on Thursday evening, the police found one survivor in seat 11A, citing Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik as saying. Previously, local media had reported that all 242 passengers on board are believed to have been killed.

Responding to inquiries from a Global Times reporter about whether there were Chinese nationals on the crashed plane, the Chinese Embassy in India stated that, according to the passenger list released by Air India, there were no Chinese nationals on board.

Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong said on X that “Deeply saddened by the tragic plane crash in Ahmedabad. Our hearts go out to the passengers and their familWorld Timesies. We stand in solidarity with all those affected in this difficult time.”

Air India has confirmed that flight AI171, from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, was involved in an accident soon 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, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals,” Air India said. The 242 people included 217 adults and 11 children, Reuters said citing a source.

The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals, per Air India.

Search and rescue teams respond to the scene of a plane crash in Ahmedabad, India, Thursday, June 12, 2025. Photo: AFP

In addition to the passengers, there were two pilots and 10 crew members, the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation said in a statement.

Moments after the fatal tragedy, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reacted, calling the crash “heartbreaking.” Taking to X, Modi said, “The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us. It is heartbreaking beyond words. In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it. Have been in touch with Ministers and authorities who are working to assist those affected.”

Modi also spoke to India Home Minister Amit Shah and Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu after the aircraft crashed, and has asked them to go to Ahmedabad and ensure all possible assistance is extended to those affected in the wake of the air mishap, ANI reported.

Police officers said the plane crashed in a civilian area near the airport. “The building on which it has crashed is a doctors’ hostel … We have cleared almost 70 toWorld Times 80 percent of the area and will clear the rest soon,” a senior police officer told reporters, according to Reuters.

Five medical students died and many suffered injuries after the flight crashed into the hostel of the BJ Medical College in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. This includes, four undergraduate students and a postgraduate resident, NDTV reported.

The Times of India reported that the Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, sending up a massive plume of black smoke and triggering an immediate emergency response.

Speaking to PTI, an eyewitness who rushed to the accident site recalled the horror incident. “I was at home when we heard a massive sound. When we went out to see what had happened, there was a layer of thick smoke in the air. When we came here, dead bodies and debris from the crashed aircraft were scattered all over,” the eyewitness said.

India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation said later Thursday that flight operations have resumed at Ahmedabad airport after suspending operations for around two hours due to the aircraft crash, ANI reported.

Causes unknown, Boeing tumbling

Per local media reports, the aircraft’s captain, Sumeet Sabharwal, gave a Mayday call to Air Traffic Control (ATC), India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a statement.

“Captain Sumeet Sabharwal is an LTC with 8200 hours of experience. The copilot had 1100 hours of flying experience. As per ATC, the aircraft departed from Ahmadabad at 1339 IST (0809 UTC) from runway 23. It gave a MAYDAY Call to ATC, but thereafter, no response was given by the aircraft to the calls made by ATC,” it added.

Wang Ya’nan, chief editor of Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times that the aircraft’s plunge just few minutes after takeoff at such a low altitude is “highly abnormal.”

“Preliminary attention should center on potential technical failures, where two types of technical failures pose particularly severe threats: First, propulsion system failures, as an aircraft at low altitude has extremely limited recovery options when experiencing power abnormalities; second, flight control system failures, as abnormal aircraft attitude during the critical climb phase could easily lead to catastrophic consequences,” Wang said.

That being said, Wang added that other potential factors must also be thoroughly examined, including the possibility of human operational errors.

Shares of Boeing fell 8 percent in premarket US trading on Thursday, according to Reuters. The fatal crash tarnishes the Dreamliner jet’s safety record and could muddy Boeing’s efforts to rebuild trust related to safety and ramp up production, the report said.

The 787 Dreamliner is a twin-engine, widebody aircraft. The Aviation Safety Network database indicates that this is the first Boeing 787 crash ever. According to the Flightradar24 database, since the aircraft’s 2009 launch, over 1,000 have been delivered to dozens of carriers, according to the Financial Express.

In March 2024, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a new directive calling for additional inspections of Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft after claims of discoveries of “excessive gaps.” The new Airworthiness Directive (AD) focuses on one important structural component: the forward pressure bulkhead.

“For Boeing, this is undoubtedly a huge blow – the 787 Dreamliner has been a flagship model with consistently strong sales. The aircraft’s key selling point is its outstanding fuel efficiency, which has made it highly popular among airlines. First flown in 2009 and entering service in 2011, the Dreamliner has only been in operation World Timesfor 14 years, making it a quite young model in aviation terms,” Wang said.

The crash has heightened Boeing’s concerns, the expert stressed. With investigations likely to span months or even a year, the company’s products will face intensified scrutiny, which is particularly troubling given Boeing’s recent string of crises involving manufacturing defects, management failures, and eroded credibility. These cumulative issues have compounded the pressure on the aerospace giant, Wang said.

Experienced pilots who have studied the video of the plane struggling to gain altitude said that the flaps on the wings appear not to be set in the normal take-off position, Sky News reported.

“It’s possible there was an engine failure of some kind, perhaps caused by a catastrophic mechanical fault. But the plane is designed to be able to fly with one engine, even at take-off, so something else would have to go wrong too. Both engines could have failed if they sucked in a flock of birds as the plane took off. It’s hapWorld Timespened in other air crashes,” the report said.

The New York Times said the crash comes as Boeing is still wending through a yearlong legal saga over two deadly crashes of its 737 Max plane in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people.

The airplane manufacturer has faced other prominent safety issues. In January 2024, a hole blew open on a Boeing 737 Max 9 during an Alaska Airlines flight, exposing passengers to forceful winds.

World Times