Asger Risom
The crash of Air India flight 171 in Ahmedabad has become one of the deadliest aviation disasters in the country’s history. The final death count remains uncertain as DNA identification continues.
Aviation disasters are rare but devastating, often leaving behind a long trail of unanswered questions and national grief. In India, where air traffic has surged dramatically in recent years, the crash of Air India flight 171 marks a dark chapter in civil aviation history.
Catastrophic Crash Minutes After Takeoff
On June 12, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner operated by Air India crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad en route to London Gatwick.
The aircraft went down just one minute into flight, striking nearby residential buildings. Authorities now report 279 confirmed deaths, up from the earlier toll of 265.
Air India stated that 242 people were onboard, including passengers and crew. Only one person is confirmed to have survived.
An additional 38 individuals were killed on the ground, underscoring the scale of devastation in the surrounding area.
The death toll remains provisional, with officials cautioning that final numbers depend on ongoing DNA identification—a process slowed by the condition of remains and the intensity of the impact.
Investigators Begin to Uncover Clues
Recovery teams located one of the aircraft’s black boxes, specifically the flight data recorder, on Friday.
Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu confirmed its retrieval, calling it “an important step in determining the causes of the accident.”
The Ahmedabad crash is now one of the worst in modern Indian history. Comparisons are being drawn to the 1996 mid-air collision near New Delhi, which killed all 349 people aboard two jets—a record for deadliest airborne collisions.
As investigators work through the wreckage and grief, India now waits for answers in a disaster that has stunned the country.
While commercial aviation remains one of the safest forms of travel, the scale of this crash serves as a sobering reminder that when failures do occur, their impact can be catastrophic, as reported by Digi24.