Aviation experts say that the Gatwick-bound Boeing that crashed in India carrying 242 passengers, including 53 Britons, may have suddenly lost power ‘at the most critical phase of flight’ after takeoff.
The possible causes are believed to include a rapid change in wind, bird strike or weather, with an investigation yet to uncover what caused Flight 171 to crash shortly after departing Ahmedabad Airport in Gujarat this morning.
Video showed the plane rapidly descending into a residential area with a high nose angle and landing gear deployed before it crashed. The number of fatalities is not yet known but rescuers said at least 30 bodies have so far been recovered from a building.
Lt. Col. John R. Davidson (Ret.), former U.S. Air Force pilot and editor of Felons Assistance and commercial aviation safety consultant, said that, based on preliminary flight tracking data, the plane appeared to have reached takeoff speed but not altitude, suggesting ‘either a very late rotation or a stall shortly after takeoff’.
‘There are a number of possible scenarios: thrust or engine performance issues, excessive aircraft weight, poor trim or flap configuration, or a more critical failure that affected the aircraft’s ability to climb,’ he said.
‘Weather, windshear or even bird strike can’t be ruled out either at this early stage.’
Captain Saurabh Bhatnagar, a former senior pilot, told local outlet NDTV that circulating footage showing the plane’s terrifying descent ‘looked like a case of multiple bird hits wherein both the engines have lost power’.
‘The takeoff was perfect,’ he said. ‘And just, I believe, short of taking the gear up, the aircraft started descending, which can happen only in case the engine loses power or the aircraft stops developing lift.’
Aviation expert Sanjay Lazar noted that the Flight 171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, was only 11 years old, so was unlikely to have underlying technical issues. The plane was under the command of captain Summeet Sabharwal, who had 8,200 hours of experience.
A bird strike ‘would explain why the aircraft did not have the power to lift,’ he said. ‘If there were multiple bird hits on take-off, it probably could not have gone beyond the 6-7 minute threshold and started falling.’
In pilots’ forums, aviation experts said that it sounded like the plane’s Ram Air Turbine (RAT), an emergency wind turbine, had been deployed shortly before the crash.
Authorities are expected to begin recovery and investigation procedures, and an official cause of the crash is yet to be confirmed. Preliminary flight tracking data from flightradar24 reveals the plane reached an altitude of just 625ft after takeoff – a height far below standard for a commercial aircraft several minutes into departure.
Davidson explained that the low altitude and high speed reading at the final moment might indicate a ‘steep nose-down trajectory or a stall event’ just after takeoff.
‘This is consistent with accidents like Spanair Flight 5022 and Flydubai Flight 981, where mechanical or environmental factors combined with compromised lift performance led to loss of control during or just after liftoff,’ he said.
The former pilot noted: ‘Flight data alone isn’t enough to determine fault — but it tells us this aircraft never truly made it airborne in a meaningful way.
‘Whatever happened, it happened fast, and right at the most critical phase of flight.’
According to data logs recorded at 30-second intervals showed the plane remained on the ground or was taxiing slowly for over four minutes after it first registered on public trackers.
The plane took off and reached 625ft, but no further gains in altitude were recorded before the crash.
India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation said the plane sent a mayday call moments before the tragedy unfolded.
Prof Paul Williams, Professor of Atmospheric Science, University of Reading, observed: ‘At the time of the departure, the weather conditions at the airport appear to have been very good.
‘It was a dry and sunny day in Ahmedabad, with temperatures near 40°C.
‘There was good visibility and light winds from the west. There was no bad weather in the vicinity.
‘There is no indication at this stage that turbulence or other weather conditions were a factor in the crash.’
Prof John McDermid, Lloyd’s Register Chair of Safety, University of York, noted: ‘It’s surprising that the accident occurred before the aircraft had even got to 200metres altitude.
‘Pilots can abort take-off until quite late in the take-off roll, so it seems like the problem occurred very suddenly in the final part of the take-off roll, or shortly after take-off, and was sufficiently serious to be unmanageable.
‘Given the levels of redundancy in systems, the fact that aircraft are designed to climb out on only one engine, etc. on initial sight this seems a very surprising accident.’
Peter Neenan, aviation lawyer and Partner at UK law firm Stewarts, explained that there would likely be a joint investigation to uncover the cause of the tragedy.
‘In due course, the Indian Directorate of General Civil Aviation will begin their investigation,’ he said.
‘The US National Transportation Safety Board will assist in that investigation and given the number of deaths of British nationals, we would expect the UK Air Accident Investigation Branch to also assist.’
He noted that such investigations ‘routinely take two or more years to complete’.
Air India flight 171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, careened back to earth in the densely populated Meghani area of the city just minutes after leaving the runway around 1pm local time.
Shocking images shared to social media showed chunks of the plane’s fuselage and tail protruding from a demolished building.
Parts of the jet smashed into accommodation for doctors practising at the BJ Medical College and Civil Hospital.
Remnants of the fuselage and the landing gear were seen dangling through a gaping hole in the side of what appeared to be a canteen, with half-finished plates of food clearly visible on benches inside.
‘The building on which it has crashed is a doctors’ hostel… we have cleared almost 70% to 80% of the area and will clear the rest soon,’ a senior police officer told reporters at the scene.
Firefighters doused the smouldering piles of debris with their hoses as photos and videos taken by horrified residents in Meghani showed a huge plume of thick black smoke emanating from the crash site.
‘Our office is near the building where the plane crashed. We saw people from the building jumping from the second and third floor to save themselves. The plane was in flames,’ said one resident, who declined to be named.
The cause of the tragedy is not yet known, but footage appeared to show the plane descending in a controlled manner with a high nose angle and landing gear deployed.
It momentarily disappeared from view behind trees and buildings before a massive fireball erupted on the horizon. The jet was fuelled for a long-haul flight direct to Gatwick, intensifying the blast.
Emergency services are working fervently to locate survivors, but the scale of the damage displayed in early images suggests there are significant casualties.
Dark images showed the charred remains of bodies littering the site, while other pictures shared to social media revealed chunks of the plane’s fuselage and tail protruding from a demolished building.
Several people, including medical students, were killed when parts of the jet smashed into accommodation for doctors practising at the BJ Medical College and Civil Hospital.
Remnants of the fuselage and the landing gear were seen dangling through a gaping hole in the side of what appeared to be a canteen, with half-finished plates of food clearly visible on benches inside.
‘The building on which it has crashed is a doctors’ hostel… we have cleared almost 70% to 80% of the area and will clear the rest soon,’ a senior police officer told reporters at the scene.
India’s Health Ministry confirmed that ‘many were killed’, but did not provide further details. As of 11:30am UK time, at least 30 bodies have been recovered from buildings damaged in the crash, rescue personnel said.
Air India’s flight manifest said there were 169 Indians, 53 Britons, one Canadian and seven Portuguese nationals on board the stricken jet.
The flight reportedly reached an altitude of just 625 feet before it began to descend, according to flight tracking service Flightradar 24, which declared the plane’s transponder signal dropped just seconds after it left the runway.
‘We received the last signal from the aircraft at 08:08:51 UTC, just seconds after take off,’ it said.
It added the pilots were highly experienced – captain Sumeet Sabharwal boasted some 8,200 hours of flight time, according to the directorate, while first officer Clive Kundar had 1,100 hours of experience under his belt.
British Foreign Minister David Lammy said he was ‘deeply saddened’ by news of the crash, adding that Britain was now working with Indian authorities to establish exactly what led to the incident.
‘My thoughts are with all those affected. The UK is working with local authorities in India to urgently establish the facts and provide support,’ his statement read.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer called images of the crash ‘devastating’ and said ‘my thoughts are with the passengers and their families’.
The Indian aviation minister’s office said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said the crash was ‘heartbreaking beyond words’, had directed it to ensure all support was extended to the rescue efforts immediately.
All relevant agencies were on high alert and coordinated efforts were underway, the aviation minister’s office added.
Air India’s Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran shared a heartfelt statement that read: ‘With profound sorrow I confirm that Air India Flight 171 operating Ahmedabad London Gatwick was involved in a tragic accident today.
‘Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event. At this moment, our primary focus is on supporting all the affected people and their families.
‘We are doing everything in our power to assist the emergency response teams at the site and to provide all necessary support and care to those impacted.’
Gatwick Airport subsequently confirmed the flight that was due to land at 18:25 today had crashed on departure.
Aviation expert Julian Bray told : ‘It’s a Boeing Dreamliner that has gone down – not certain whether they’ve managed to get anybody off the plane.
‘If it has indeed crash-landed and they can deploy the chutes out then they should be able to get people off in 90 seconds. I am aware there are fire appliances in attendance – this is a major incident.
‘It is very disappointing that it is a Dreamliner as it is a state-of-the-art Boeing. We cannot rule out security issues. But this is all speculation on my part.’
Weather conditions were calm at the time of the accident with clear skies and a windspeed of just seven knots, or eight miles per hour.
Indian news agency ANI reported police sources had confirmed 242 people were on board the flight.
India’s aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said in a statement: ‘Shocked and devastated to learn about the flight crash in Ahmedabad. We are on highest alert.
‘I am personally monitoring the situation and have directed all aviation and emergency response agencies to take swift and coordinated action.
‘Rescue teams have been mobilised, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support are being rushed to the site. My thoughts and prayers are with all those on board and their families.’
The Director General of India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is en route to the site of the incident with a team of investigators, according to the Times of India.
Air India shared a brief statement in the wake of the disaster, writing on X: ‘Flight AI171, operating Ahmedabad-London Gatwick, was involved in an incident today, 12 June 2025.
‘At this moment, we are ascertaining the details and will share further updates at the earliest.’
Ahmedabad is the main city in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat.
Ahmedabad airport said it had suspended all flight operations with immediate effect following the incident this morning.
The 787 Dreamliner involved in today’s crash is a widebody, twin-engine plane. It is believed to be the first ever of a Boeing 787 aircraft, according to the Aviation Safety Network database.
The last fatal plane crash in India was in 2020 and involved Air India Express, the airline’s low-cost arm.
The airline’s Boeing-737 overshot a ‘table-top’ runway at Kozhikode International Airport in southern India. The plane skidded off the runway, plunging into a valley and crashing nose-first into the ground.
Twenty-one people were killed in that crash.
The formerly state-owned Air India was taken over by Indian conglomerate Tata Group in 2022, and merged with Vistara – a joint venture between the group and Singapore Airlines – in 2024.
Tata said an emergency centre had been activated and a support team set up for families seeking information.
Today’s tragedy is the latest in a string of disasters involving Boeing jets and comes just six months after a 737 crashed in South Korea, killing 179.
In October 2018, Boeing’s Lion Air flight 610 plunged into the Java Sea shortly after takeoff from Jakarta, in Indonesia killing all 189 people on board.
Then, in March 2019, Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 crashed minutes after departing Addis Ababa, resulting in the deaths of 157 passengers and crew.
Shares of planemaker Boeing fell 8% in premarket US trading following today’s incident.
Boeing said in a statement it was aware of initial reports and was working to gather more information.