Ahmedabad Air India plane crash: What we know so far

The Air India plane crash on Thursday was one of India’s worst aviation disasters, killing 241 people on board and several people on the ground.

Indian authorities said Friday the investigation into the crash was underway, which is expected to include experts from the plane’s maker Boeing and US aviation regulators.

Here’s what is known about the crash:

Air India flight AI 171, a Boeing 787-8 bound for London, crashed minutes after takeoff Thursday afternoon in the northwestern city of Ahmedabad. Images captured both the plane’s last moments and the horror of the crash site, with rescuers picking through smoking debris as they searched for survivors.

The lone survivor was a passenger, Vishwashkumar Ramesh, a British national of Indian origin.

Ramesh was thrown from the aircraft and walked to an ambulance, according to Dr Dhaval Gameti, who treated Ramesh. The doctor told AP that Ramesh was disoriented, with multiple injuries, but that he seemed to be out of danger.

Another medic said Ramesh told him that immediately after the plane took off, it began descending and suddenly split in two, throwing him out before a loud explosion.

The airline said there were no other survivors among the 242 passengers and crew on board.

Security camera footage showed the plane taking off and then veering slightly to the side. It then drops into a downward glide, disappears briefly from sight and hits the ground.

Moments later, a huge orange and black fireball appears, rising high into the air.

At the crash site, the tail cone of the aircraft with damaged stabiliser fins still attached was lodged near the top of a building. The plane’s jagged cavity has torn into the facade. A web of cracks spirals outward from the plane’s impact.

The battered building in Ahmedabad was the dining area for medical students, and they were having lunch when the plane crashed.

Indrajeet Singh Solanki, an eyewitness and rescuer, said that at first it was chaotic, smoke everywhere.

“We could see some small parts (of the plane) burning. Just like this wing lying over here,” he said. “Through the smoke, we kept rescuing injured people and rushed them to the trauma centre in the civil hospital in auto rickshaws. We rushed nine people to the hospital.”

Plane crash investigations are highly complex and can take months or years to complete. However, video of Thursday’s Air India crash has already sparked early discussion among aviation experts.

A widely shared clip showed the Boeing 787 Dreamliner descending with its nose unusually pointed upward. It looked like it should be climbing, but it was descending. The question is why.

Experts warn against jumping to conclusions. Modern aircraft have multiple systems in place to prevent accidents, meaning crashes often result from a combination of failures — mechanical issues, maintenance errors, bird strikes, or pilot mistakes. Investigators will examine many possibilities: Was the plane properly configured for takeoff? Did it suffer a loss of thrust? Was there fuel contamination?

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will assist Indian officials, along with British and FAA experts. Early clues might come from the plane’s black boxes, which record flight data and cockpit sounds.

Weather may have played a role, too. Ahmedabad’s extreme heat - around 38 degrees Celsius - reduces engine performance and lift. Video footage showed the landing gear down and flaps appearing retracted, both unusual for takeoff. Improper configuration could have impacted performance.

Experts noted that in some cases, pilots may leave landing gear down briefly to help brakes cool, or they may be distracted by an emergency.

While comparisons have been made to past accidents like the 1987 Northwest Airlines crash, experts emphasise that many factors remain unknown. A full investigation will be needed before any conclusions can be drawn.

The airline had been plagued by tragedy and financial losses under prior state ownership.

In 2010, an Air India flight overshot the runway in Mangalore, India, and plunged over a cliff, killing 158 of the 166 people on board. In 2020, an Air India Express flight skidded off a runway in southern India during heavy rain and cracked in two — killing 18 people and injuring more than 120 others.

An Air India Boeing 747 flight crashed into the Arabian Sea in 1978, killing all 213 aboard.

The carrier was under government control from 1953 until 2022.

The Tata Group has announced a compensation of Rs10 million for the families of each person who lost their lives in the crash.

The Boeing 787 went into service in 2009. This was the first crash of the model, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.

The 787 Dreamliner was the first airliner to make extensive use of lithium ion batteries, which are lighter, recharge faster and can hold more energy than other types of batteries. In 2013 the 787 fleet was temporarily grounded because of overheating of its lithium-ion batteries, which in some cases sparked fires.

There was no information yet about possible causes of the crash. Authorities were searching the crash site Friday as part of the investigation.

- with inputs from AP, agencies