Description

On 12 June 2025, a Boeing 787-8 (VT-ANB) powered by two GE GEnx-1B engines, operated by Air India on a scheduled international passenger flight from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick as AI 171, crashed soon after takeoff in day visual conditions (VMC). The aircraft was destroyed by a combination of the impact and a consequential fuel-fed fire. All but one of the 242 occupants and 19 others on the ground were killed, but the surviving passenger suffered only minor injuries and was able to evacuate the aircraft without assistance before the fire took hold. A total of 67 people were injured on the ground but the extent of their injuries has not yet been recorded. The investigation found an interruption to the fuel flow to both engines happened as a consequence of both fuel cutoff switches transitioning from RUN to CUTOFF position within one second. This resulted in a loss of thrust at a height above the ground which was too low for engine restart and restoration of thrust. Impact began at less than one nm from the departure runway upwind threshold.