Mayday at 625 feet: What happened to Flight 171?
- Paweł Zapora
- Jun 24
- 3 min read
On June 12, 2025, a passenger plane with 242 people on board crashed in Ahmedabad, India. Of the 230 passengers and 12 crew members, one person survived - a passenger of British origin.
Air India Flight 171 took off from the Ahmedabad Airport (AMD) at 1:38 p.m. local time. It was headed towards the London Gatwick Airport (LGW). The weather and visibility that day seemed very good. Several dozens of seconds after the takeoff, the plane lost contact with the airport. The pilots, about 70 meters above the ground, sent a Mayday signal, reporting a loss of engine power and thrust. Historically, this is one of the fastest losses of thrust after takeoff.
The plane that crashed was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. It had 242 people on board, including 169 Indians, 58 British, 7 Portuguese, and one Canadian. Only one person survived. It was a 40-year-old passenger of British citizenship. He was sitting in seat 11A, by the emergency exit. It is very possible that if it were not for this seat, he would not have survived this tragedy. This accident is the deadliest Dreamliner accident in history. Eyewitnesses reported hearing multiple explosions. The plane crashed into the canteen of the medical education center. On the ground, 38 people died.
An investigation is being conducted in cooperation with the Indian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau together with the British Air Accidents Investigation Branch and the American National Transport Safety Board. On June 13, after 28 hours of searching, one of the black boxes was found. Then a few hours later, the second one was also found. Black boxes are flight data recorders and cockpit sound recorders. They owe their name to aircraft accidents and the fact that they usually burn and blacken. According to The Independent,the pilot's last words before the catastrophic crash that killed at least 270 people on Thursday were: “Thrust not achieved... falling... Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!"
After recovery, the only survivor testified how he had gotten out of the plane. "Thirty seconds after takeoff we heard a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so fast," the man told the reporters. The passenger gave a brief statement to The Hindustan Times moments after the crash, in the hospital. "When I got up, there were a lot of bodies around. I was terrified. I got up and ran. There were pieces of the plane everywhere. Someone caught me, put me in an ambulance and took me to the hospital," the survivor said.
As of June 14, the causes of the accident are unknown. Just a month ago, Boeing officially celebrated 14 years of service for the 787 Dreamliner family, during which time the aircraft have carried more than a billion passengers worldwide.
Bibliography:
Khalil, Hafsa. “British Man Describes How He Escaped Air India Wreckage.” BBC News, 13 June 2025, www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd901xn4001o. Accessed 15 June 2025.
Marcin Walków. “Katastrofa Dreamlinera W Indiach. Mamy Komentarz Boeinga.” Money.pl - Portal Finansowy, 12 June 2025, www.money.pl/gospodarka/katastrofa-dreamlinera-w-indiach-mamy-komentarz-boeinga-7166888792910464a.html. Accessed 15 June 2025.
Rossiter, Emma. “Air India Plane Crash Death Toll Rises to 270.” BBC NEWS, 15 June 2025, www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0575me7j82o. Accessed 15 June 2025.
Singh, Namita. “Air India Plane Crash Live Updates: Pilot’s Last Words Revealed as Families Wait Anxiously for Bodies of Victims.” The Independent, 15 June 2025, www.independent.co.uk/asia/india/air-india-flight-crash-boeing-plane-latest-news-b2770317.html#post-2093761. Accessed 15 June 2025.
“Katastrofa Lotnicza W Indiach. Co Wiadomo O Jedynym Uratowanym Z Katastrofy.” Tvn24.Pl, TVN24, 13 June 2025, tvn24.pl/swiat/katastrofa-lotnicza-w-indiach-co-wiadomo-o-jedynym-uratowanym-z-katastrofy-st8509143. Accessed 15 June 2025.
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