An Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.
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An Air India Boeing Dreamliner plane with 242 passengers and crew aboard crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad in western India, local officials and the carrier said Thursday.
“The injured are being taken to the nearest hospitals,” Air India said in a post on X.
“With profound sorrow I confirm that Air India flight, AI 171 operating Ahmedabad London Gatwick was involved in a tragic accident today,” Air India Chairman N Chandrasekaran said.
The aircraft was bound for London Gatwick Airport.
The flight was operated by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, a top-selling wide-body aircraft meant for longer routes. The aircraft was delivered to Air India in 2014, according to flight-tracking site FlightRadar24.
Initial flight-path data “shows that the aircraft reached a maximum barometric altitude of 625 feet (airport altitude is about 200 feet) and then it started to descend with an vertical speed of -475 feet per minute,” FlightRadar said on X.
“We are aware of initial reports and are working to gather more information,” Boeing said in a statement.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport flights are temporarily suspended in the wake of the incident, an airport spokesperson said.
“I am deeply saddened by the accident of the Air India passenger plane crash in Ahmedabad. I have instructed the officials to take immediate rescue and relief operations in the accident and to make arrangements for immediate treatment of the injured passengers on a war footing,” Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said on social media, according to a Google translation.
CNBC has reached out to local police and India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
“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,” said Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, India’s aviation minister said in a post on X.
The incident reverberated into markets, with shares of Boeing down 7.9% in premarket trading at 6:03 a.m. E.T.
This is a developing story and will be updated shortly.
