Ahmedabad plane crash: 5 major aviation disasters that shook India

Air India flight AI 171 crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad Airport. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner which was en-route to London was carrying 232 passengers and 10 crew members according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Visuals from the Meghan Nagar area where the plane crashed at 1:38 pm shows the aircraft struggling to gain altitude before hitting the ground and exploding causing a thick black smoke encompassing the air. The plane was fully fuelled for the long journey, causing a large fireball. Emergency services reached the site promptly. This is the first fatal air disaster in India since 2020.

On August 7, 2020, the Air India Express Flight IX-1344, a Boeing 737-800, crashed at Kozhikode Airport, during landing in heavy rain. The aircraft skidded off the tabletop runway before falling into a gorge. Out of the 190 people onboard, about 21 died, including both the pilots. The flight was operating under the Vande Bharat Mission, aimed at repatriating Indians stranded abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Air India Express Flight IX-812 crashed on May 22, 2010, at Mangalore Airport. The Boeing 737-800, flying from Dubai, overshot the tabletop runway and plunged into a valley. The crash killed 158 of 166 people onboard. It remains the deadliest accident involving Air India Express.

Alliance Air Flight 7412 crashed on July 17, 1998, near Patna Airport. The Boeing 737-2A8 had lost control during a go-around and it fell into a residential area. The accident had claimed the life of 60 people, which included five on the ground. The investigation cited pilot error as the primary cause.

On November 12, 1996, two aircraft— Saudia Flight 763 and Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907, collided near Charkhi Dadri in Haryana. All 349 people on both planes were killed in this mid-air collision. This accident remains the world’s deadliest mid-air collision in the world history. Later, during an investigation, the cause was attributed to altitude miscommunication and inadequate English proficiency of the Kazakh crew.

Another fatal accident occurred when Indian Airlines Flight 491 hit a truck on the runway during takeoff from Aurangabad on April 26, 1993. The Boeing 737 then struck a power line and crashed, killing 55 out of the 118 people onboard. The accident was said to be caused by misjudgement during takeoff and poor ground access control.

In 1990, Indian Airlines Flight 605 crashed while landing in Bangalore, killing about 92 people. Earlier, in 1988, Flight 113 crashed near Ahmedabad, killing 133 people onboard. In 1978, Air India Flight 855 crashed into the Arabian Sea after takeoff from Mumbai, claiming the lives of all 213 onboard.