AHMEDABAD — Air India Flight 171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, crashed into a medical college hostel 32 seconds after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025. The aircraft was operating on a route from Ahmedabad to London.

The crash resulted in 241 fatalities on the aircraft and 18 deaths on the ground, with one passenger surviving the aircraft crash. Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and first officer Clive Kunder were operating the flight.

India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau released a preliminary report indicating that the aircraft's flight data recorder showed both fuel cutoff switches moved from the run position to the cutoff position moments after takeoff. The preliminary report also noted that on the cockpit voice recording, one pilot asked the other why he cut off the fuel, and the second pilot responded that he did not. The final official investigation into the crash remains incomplete.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board dispatched a delegation including technical experts from Boeing, GE Aerospace, and the Federal Aviation Administration to participate as accredited representatives in the investigation. India's National Disaster Management Authority stated that the bodies of 90 percent of the victims were severely charred, with extreme thermal damage destroying fingerprints and facial features.

Salim Patel's 25-year-old son, Sahil Patel, died as a passenger on the flight one day after being selected for a two-year U.K. work visa through a ballot. "His lottery visa would have changed our destiny for better. Little did I know that the visa that gave us utmost happiness was actually a death warrant. We lost a charming, obedient son." Salim Patel said. He called for accountability, stating, "Each year, hundreds of people die in man-made tragedies, and the perpetrators go unpunished. They should be hanged; they are the real traitors to the country."

Representatives from Air India and the Tata Group visited Salim Patel's residence after the crash and offered compensation, conditional on the family providing proof that Sahil Patel was a salaried employee. At least 120 families affected by the crash have consulted a law firm based in the U.S.