Air India AI-171 crash one of the rarest in aviation history - Aviation experts

-- Flight with 242 on board crashes in Ahmedabad, only one survivor

-- Double-engine failure could be behind the crash

-- 5 dead at medical students’ hostel where plane crashed

The Air India flight crash which claimed over 250 lives in Ahmedabad yesterday is one of the rarest in aviation history as initial investigations revealed that the crash may have been due to dual engine failure, aviation experts said.

By last evening, aviation experts said that the probability of both engines failing together was once in a billion flying hours which is one of the rarest of rare crashes ever in aviation history.

The flight, Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which went down shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad airport was carrying 242 people, including 232 passengers and 10 crew members, and was enroute to London.

Among the passengers on board on Thursday were 53 British nationals, 169 Indian nationals, one Canadian national and seven Portuguese nationals.

Ramesh Vishwaskumar Bucharvada, who was among the passengers onboard the flight who miracalously survived the deadly accident yesterday.

Ramesh, 38, who was seated on 11A, reportedly jumped off the plane during the incident.

Reports say the pilot of the flight AI-171 enroute from Ahmedabad to London gave a Mayday call to the Air Traffic Control. It was reported that a Mayday call is sent out by the pilot when both the engines of the aircraft have failed.

Aviation experts told the international media that if a single engine of an aircraft fails, the pilots can land the plane as soon as possible at the nearest airport or runway.

An expert also said that the speed of the aircraft also varies from city to city and also in different temperatures and heights.

The aircraft was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which is a mid-size, twin-engine, wide-body jet airliner known for its fuel efficiency, comfortable passenger experience, and innovative design features like large windows with electronic dimming. The expert added that it was unbelievable to see a Dreamliner crash.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in a statement said the aircraft piloted by captain Sumeet Sabharwal with 8,200 hours of experience and first officer Clive Kundar with 1,100 hours of experience made a Mayday call just before the crash.

Reports also said that there were possibilities of casualties on the ground too as the plane crashed on a medical college building.

The plane slammed into a hostel for doctors of a medical college, killing five students. Visuals from the crash site show debris had pierced through the wall of a dining hall of the hostel, with food still visible on some of the plates.

According to reports, the plane crashed directly on the BJ Medical College UG hostel mess in Meghani Nagar. Reports say several students may have died on the ground as Federation of All India Medical Associations (FAIMA) claimed students were present at the hostel mess at the time of the crash.

Speaking to CNN-News18, Harshit, a medical student, said he was having lunch at the time when the plane crashed into the building next to the one he was in. Harshit’s friend, who was at the crash site, is currently admitted to the hospital. Harshit mentioned that the building where the plane crashed housed resident doctors.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said "The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us. It is heartbreaking beyond words.

"In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it. "Have been in touch with ministers and authorities who are working to assist those affected."

Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, at his weekly press briefing, calls the crash "a very tragic accident".

"The rescue operations are on. We need to wait a little more time for exact details to be put out," he says.

But he adds: "We have lost a lot of people. We extend our deepest condolences to all those who have lost their loved ones."

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said he is deeply saddened by the tragic crash. "We offer our heartfelt condolences to the families of all those affected onboard. Equally heartbreaking are the civilian casualties on the ground, including young medical students whose lives and futures were struck by this tragedy. At this moment of deep sorrow, the people of Sri Lanka stand in solidarity with India. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone impacted," the President said.

Yesterday's crash of an Air India flight on a Boeing 787-8 airplane is the latest in a string of safety incidents over the years for plane manufacturer Boeing Co.

Over the last several years, the plane maker has dealt with a nightmare of incidents with fatal crashes and quality issues placing Boeing in the spotlight. Last year, a door plug blew out near the rear of a plane, leaving a gaping hole in the fuselage during the Alaska Airlines flight. Investigators are set to have a meeting later this month on the incident.

And at the tail-end of 2024, Boeing saw another devastating incident. In South Korea, a crash on a Jeju Air flight killed 179 people on December 29 in what was in the year’s worst aviation disaster. The cause of the crash of the 15-year-old Boeing jet is still under investigation.

Boeing’s 787-8 Dreamliner — the type of plane involved in today’s crash, according to data from Flightradar24 — hasn’t seen crashes at this magnitude in its history, however, there have been other incidents. This year, four passengers and two crew members were injured on a United Airlines flight that made a sudden jolt in the air.

The company has experienced one misstep to the next over the last six years, starting with the 20-month grounding of its best selling plane, the 737 Max, following two fatal crashes in late 2018 and early 2019, which killed 346 people.

Boeing has also felt the financial burden of its many problems. At the start of 2025, the company had lost $39.3 billion since early 2019 and reported losses in virtually every quarter since then.