ANJ, June 14 - On a warm summer afternoon in Ahmedabad, India, tragedy struck with devastating swiftness as Air India Flight 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, took off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport bound for London Gatwick. The aircraft, carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members, had been airborne for a mere 11 seconds when Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a seasoned pilot with over 8,200 hours of flying experience, issued a chilling distress call to air traffic control: “Mayday…no thrust, losing power, unable to lift.” These haunting words, uttered just moments after takeoff at 1:39 PM local time, marked the beginning of an irrecoverable disaster that would claim 241 lives, leaving only one survivor amidst a scene of unimaginable devastation.
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The flight, registered as VT-ANB, was operated on a modern, sophisticated aircraft, part of a model that had never been involved in a fatal accident before. Fully fueled for its 4,200-mile, nearly ten-hour journey, the Dreamliner was loaded with approximately 126 tonnes of fuel, a factor that likely intensified the catastrophic fireball that erupted upon impact. The aircraft reached a maximum altitude of barely 400 feet before it began to lose altitude rapidly. For 17 agonizing seconds, Captain Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kundar, who had 1,100 hours of flying experience, wrestled with the controls as the plane struggled to stay aloft. Video footage captured the jet’s final moments, showing it descending in a nose-up position, unable to maintain lift, before it disappeared behind trees and crashed into a residential area in Ahmedabad’s densely populated Meghaninagar neighborhood, just 1.5 miles from the runway’s end. The impact obliterated doctors’ accommodations and a student canteen, killing not only nearly everyone on board but also dozens on the ground.
The sole survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British national of Indian origin seated in 11A, miraculously walked away from the wreckage with visible but non-life-threatening injuries. He later recounted hearing a loud noise 30 seconds after takeoff, followed by the plane’s sudden plunge. Among the victims were 53 British nationals, including a family of three from Gloucester and a former chief minister of Gujarat, Vijay Rupani. The passenger manifest reflected a diverse group, from families reuniting to holidaymakers returning home, all unaware of the tragedy about to unfold.
Investigators from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, joined by officials from the US and UK, have begun piecing together the cause of the crash, focusing on the plane’s engine thrust, wing flaps, and landing gear, which remained deployed during the brief flight. The Boeing 787’s General Electric engines are under scrutiny, with potential causes including mechanical failure, fuel contamination, or a bird strike, though the latter is considered less likely as no birds were visible in the footage. A cloud of dust observed during takeoff has raised questions about environmental factors, but the recovery of the flight data recorder promises critical insights. The aircraft, nearly eight years old with over 4,000 flights, had been serviced as recently as March, yet the sudden loss of thrust reported by the pilots suggests a catastrophic failure that overwhelmed even their extensive training. As the investigation unfolds, the aviation world mourns a tragedy that has shattered the Dreamliner’s flawless safety record and left families grappling with profound loss.