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🇮🇳 Air India Flight AI171 – Tragedy in Ahmedabad

🕒 What happened?

• On June 12, 2025, Air India Flight AI171, a Boeing 787‑8 Dreamliner carrying 242 people, crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, bound for London Gatwick

• The aircraft lost altitude abruptly at around 650 feet, remained with landing gear down, then crashed into a hostel at B.J. Medical College in the densely populated Meghani Nagar district
  

• A mayday call was issued just before impact at 1:39 pm IST

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💔 Casualties & Survivors

• 241 of the 242 aboard were killed; 38+ people on the ground, including at least four medical students, also lost their lives, bringing the total to approximately 279 fatalities
  

• Remarkably, one passenger survived: Viswashkumar Ramesh, seated near an emergency exit (11A), escaped by jumpping through the exit door
  

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🔍 Responses & Investigation

• Rescue efforts recovered two black boxes, including the flight data recorder, now under analysis by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, with international assistance anticipated
  

• Officials are investigating potential failures in engine thrust, flap deployment, and why the landing gear remained down. Bird strike has been ruled out as a key factor
  

• Following the crash, India’s DGCA ordered urgent safety checks on all Air India Boeing 787 aircraft equipped with GE GEnx engines
  

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😢 Human Impact

• Among the victims was Arjun Patoliya, returning to his two young daughters in London after honoring his late wife’s memory—a story that underscores the wider heartbreak; a GoFundMe campaign has raised over £422,000 for his family

• The crash also claimed lives in the local community, including several medical-student families; dozens were injured, and DNA identification efforts continue amid recovery and mourning

🔥 1. Tenerife Airport Disaster (1977)

• Location: Tenerife, Canary Islands (Spain)

• Aircraft: 2 Boeing 747s (KLM and Pan Am)

• Fatalities: 583

• Cause: Miscommunication and dense fog led to a runway collision

• Note: Deadliest aviation accident in history not involving terrorism.

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💥 2. Japan Airlines Flight 123 (1985)

• Location: Mount Takamagahara, Japan

• Aircraft: Boeing 747

• Fatalities: 520 (out of 524 onboard)

• Cause: Rear pressure bulkhead failure due to faulty repair

• Note: Deadliest single-aircraft accident ever.

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🛫 3. Charkhi Dadri Mid-Air Collision (1996)

• Location: Near Delhi, India

• Aircraft: Saudi Arabian Airlines and Kazakhstan Airlines

• Fatalities: 349

• Cause: Air traffic control error and miscommunication

• Note: Deadliest mid-air collision in aviation history.

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💣 4. American Airlines Flight 11 & United Airlines Flight 175 (2001)

• Location: World Trade Center, New York, USA

• Aircraft: Boeing 767 (both planes)

• Fatalities: 2,977 total (on planes and on ground)

• Cause: Terrorist hijackings on 9/11

• Note: Largest loss of life due to aviation-related terrorism.

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🛬 5. Turkish Airlines Flight 981 (1974)

• Location: Ermenonville Forest near Paris, France

• Aircraft: McDonnell Douglas DC-10

• Fatalities: 346

• Cause: Cargo door failure causing explosive decompression

• Note: Led to design changes in DC-10 aircraft.

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🌊 6. Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 (2014)

• Location: Disappeared over the Indian Ocean

• Aircraft: Boeing 777

• Fatalities: 239

• Cause: Unknown — aircraft vanished mid-flight

• Note: One of aviation’s greatest mysteries.

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🕳️ 7. Air India Flight 182 (1985)

• Location: Atlantic Ocean near Ireland

• Aircraft: Boeing 747

• Fatalities: 329

• Cause: Bombing (terrorist attack)

• Note: Deadliest aviation disaster involving Air India.