Everything felt normal at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport that Thursday afternoon. The heat in Ahmedabad was oppressive, pushing 42°C, and the air was thick. Air India Flight 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, was prepped for a long haul to London Gatwick. 242 souls were on board.
It took exactly 32 seconds for everything to fall apart.
If you followed the news during the summer of 2025, you remember the grainy CCTV footage. You’ve seen the jet struggling to gain altitude, clearing the airport perimeter by a hair, and then—silence before the fireball. The plane crash June 12 2025 wasn't just another aviation accident; it was a statistical anomaly that turned into a nightmare for the city of Ahmedabad.
The 32-Second Timeline
The flight started rolling at 1:37:37 p.m. local time. It was a heavy takeoff, packed with fuel for the journey to the UK.
At 1:38:39 p.m., the wheels left the tarmac. Three seconds later—literally three seconds—the unthinkable happened. Both engines on the Dreamliner cut out. According to the preliminary report from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), the fuel cutoff switches for Engine 1 and Engine 2 flipped from "RUN" to "CUTOFF" almost simultaneously.
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Think about that.
The pilots were suddenly flying a 250-ton glider at 600 feet. The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) captured a chilling moment: one pilot asking why the fuel was cut, and the other responding, bewildered, that he hadn't touched the switches.
The plane slammed into the residential area of Meghani Nagar, specifically hitting the hostel and dining block of the B.J. Medical College.
The Lone Survivor: Vishvashkumar Ramesh
Statistically, nobody should have walked away from that. The plane was carrying roughly 125,000 liters of fuel. When it hit the medical college buildings, the explosion was visible from miles away.
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Yet, Vishvashkumar Ramesh, a British national sitting in seat 11A, did.
Basically, the fuselage broke in a way that threw his section clear of the primary inferno. He told reporters from his hospital bed that he just unbuckled and walked through a hole where a door used to be. It’s the kind of story that sounds like a movie script, but for the families of the other 241 people on board and the 19 people killed on the ground, it was a lonely miracle.
What the Investigators Found (and What They're Still Arguing About)
The investigation into the plane crash June 12 2025 has been a mess of legal battles and technical finger-pointing.
- The Switch Mystery: Boeing 787 fuel switches have a "pull-to-turn" lock. They aren't supposed to move by accident.
- The FAA Advisory: It turns out there was a previous advisory about potential issues with the switch lock mechanisms that Air India allegedly hadn't fully addressed.
- Human Error vs. Mechanical Failure: In January 2026, the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) got involved, serving legal notices to the AAIB for summoning family members of the deceased pilots. They're basically saying the government is looking for a scapegoat rather than looking at the hardware.
The AAIB report noted that the pilots did try to flip the switches back to "RUN," but jet engines aren't like car ignitions. They need time to spool up. At 600 feet, they simply ran out of sky.
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The Impact on Global Aviation
This was the first fatal hull loss of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. For a decade, the 787 was the "golden child" of safety. That reputation shattered in a residential neighborhood in Gujarat.
Financially, the fallout is staggering. We're looking at insurance payouts near $475 million.
| Category | Estimated Cost/Stat |
|---|---|
| Total Fatalities | 260 (241 on plane, 19 ground) |
| Aircraft Hull Value | $125 Million |
| Passenger Liability | $350 Million |
| Route Suspensions | All Air India 787 Gatwick flights (temporary) |
Moving Forward: What You Should Know
If you're flying today, honestly, the 787 is still statistically one of the safest ways to travel. But this crash changed the "pre-flight" culture. Air India and several other carriers now mandate a physical inspection of the fuel control module lock-wire before every single departure.
If you are tracking the final report, expect it in June 2026. Until then, the industry is left with a haunting question: how did two independent, locked switches fail at the exact same time?
Next Steps for Travelers and Families:
- Check the AAIB (India) official portal for the "Final Accident Report" scheduled for release this summer.
- If you're an aviation buff, look into the FAA Airworthiness Directive (AD) regarding 787 fuel switch lock mechanisms to see if your upcoming flights use the updated hardware.
- Review the AI-171 Memorial and Welfare Trust updates if you are seeking information on the rebuilding of the B.J. Medical College infrastructure.