Air India flight AI171 tragedy is first time a Boeing 787 Dreamliner has crashed

Sir Keir Starmer called today’s crash as “devastating,” adding “my thoughts are with the passengers and their families”

11:38, 12 Jun 2025Updated 12:15, 12 Jun 2025

Sir Keir Starmer has released a statement on the Air India crash(Image: Bob Greaves Photography)

An Air India flight crashed near the Ahmedabad airport on Thursday (12th June) on route to London Gatwick airport, with the plane described as Boeing’s “state of the art” aircraft.

Today’s tragic events mark the first time a Boeing 787 Dreamliner has crashed, a “worrying” development, according to aviation expert Julian Bray

He explained: “This is a state of the art airliner, the Dreamliner, Boeing’s star product you might say, and it does have several backup systems and safety systems, and so this is pure speculation on my part…

Read more: Final signal of doomed Air India flight AI171 received seconds after take off

“So we have to look at security issues and decide whether that is a factor here.”

He added that “there shouldn’t have been a problem” when taking off as it’s a “state of the art” airliner.

Bray continued: “The aircraft these days, they sort of fly themselves, so there shouldn’t have been a problem in taking off, especially not with a Dreamliner.

“It’s got a pretty good track record and as I say, it’s state of the art, so we really need more detail.”

The flight tracking website, Flight Radar, has outlined the initial ADS-B data from flight, giving vital insight into what happened moments before the crash.

On X, they wrote: “Initial ADS-B data from flight #AI171 shows that the aircraft reached a maximum barometric altitude of 625 feet (airport altitude is about 200 feet) and then it started to descend with an vertical speed of -475 feet per minute.”

The Air India flight was scheduled to fly from Ahmedabad International Airport to London Gatwick Airport at 09:50 local time.

Its scheduled arrival time was 18:25 local time.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday called today’s crash “devastating”, adding “my thoughts are with the passengers and their families”.

“The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating.

“My thoughts are with the passengers and their families at this deeply distressing time,” Starmer said in a statement issued by his Downing Street office.

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