The world's worst air crashes in the last decade
At least 30 people were killed when an Air India plane bound for London with 242 people on board crashed minutes after taking off from India's western city of Ahmedabad on Thursday, with the toll expected to climb, authorities said.
Below are some of the fatal crashes that have occurred in recent years.
2025
UNITED STATES
More than 60 people were killed when an American Airlines regional passenger jet collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on January 29 and crashed into the frigid Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
2024
SOUTH KOREA
Jeju Air international flight 7C2216 crashed at Muan International Airport on Dec. 29, 2024, killing all 175 passengers and four of the six crew in the deadliest air disaster on South Korean soil.
KAZAKHSTAN
Azerbaijan Airlines international flight J2-8243, an Embraer E190, crashed on December 25 after being diverted from Russia to Kazakhstan, killing 38 people. Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said in December the plane had been damaged by accidental shooting from the ground in Russia. Moscow has not confirmed this.
JAPAN
Japan Airlines (JAL) plane collided with a smaller Coast Guard aircraft on the runway of Tokyo's Haneda airport on January 2. All 379 people aboard the JAL plane, an Airbus A350-941 flight, escaped the burning airliner. Five of six crew on the smaller aircraft were killed.
2022
CHINA
A China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 crashed into a mountainous region in the southwestern Guangxi region on March 21, 2022, killing all 132 people on board, in China's deadliest aviation disaster in 28 years.
2020
IRAN
Iran's Revolutionary Guards shot down a Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) Boeing 737-800 on Jan. 8, 2020 shortly after it took off from Tehran Airport, killing all 176 people on board. Iran's civil aviation body blamed a misaligned radar and an error by an air defense operator.
2019
ETHIOPIA
A Boeing 737-MAX 8 Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed on March 19, 2019 minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa for Nairobi, killing all 157 people on board.
Soon after, the Boeing 737 MAX global fleet was grounded over safety concerns.
2018
INDONESIA
A Boeing 737 MAX Lion Air plane crashed into the Java Sea soon after taking off from Jakarta on October 29, 2018, killing all 189 people on board.
2014
MALAYSIA
Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 departed from Amsterdam for Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014, and was shot down over eastern Ukraine as fighting raged between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces. All 298 passengers on board were killed.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 went missing on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014. The remains of the Boeing 777 and the 239 people have not been found.
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Arab News
13 hours ago
- Arab News
India in mourning after over 240 killed in deadliest aviation disaster in decades
NEW DELHI, India: Indian authorities were combing the site of one of India's deadliest aviation disasters on Friday, after an Air India plane crashed in the western city of Ahmedabad less than a minute after takeoff, killing all but one of its passengers. The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which had 242 people on board, also killed dozens more people when it crashed into a medical college hostel located just outside Ahmedabad airport and burst into flames on Thursday afternoon. The sole survivor, a British national of Indian origin, is being treated in a hospital, the airline confirmed. 'We are all devastated by the air tragedy in Ahmedabad. The loss of so many lives in such a sudden and heartbreaking manner is beyond words. Condolences to all the bereaved families,' Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on social media after visiting the crash site in the capital of his home state of Gujarat. The passengers comprised 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, 7 Portuguese and one Canadian. The surviving passenger, who was in seat 11A next to an emergency exit in front of the plane's wing, reportedly managed to jump out. He told Indian media that he had heard a loud noise shortly after flight AI171 took off. Various footage showed the plane taking off over a residential area and then sinking and disappearing from the screen, before a huge fireball could be seen rising into the sky from beyond the houses. Those killed on board include a family who was visiting India for Eid, a newlywed who is moving to the UK and Vijay Rupani, former chief minister of Gujarat. Health authorities are conducting DNA tests to identify bodies, which were mostly charred beyond recognition, as relatives take part and wait for officials to release the remains. Suresh Khatika, who was waiting at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital where the DNA testing was taking place, said his niece Payal Khatika was among the passengers. 'Payal was going for further studies and she has taken a loan for it. She was really preparing herself for the day when she would go to the UK for studies,' Khatika told Arab News. 'It is really tragic that her dream crashed like this. We are in deep pain, and don't know how to react.' Many Indians have also taken to social media to mourn the victims, as their stories circulated widely. Among them is Dr. Pratik Joshi, who was reportedly bringing his wife, Dr. Komi Vyas, and three young children to move to the UK. A picture of the family, believed to be taken on the plane and shared with relatives before takeoff, has garnered millions of views online as messages of condolence poured in. In addition to the passengers and crew, dozens more people perished as they were caught in the path of the plane crash. Thakur Ravi, a cook at B.J. Medical College, said his mother and two-year-old daughter, who had been on the side of the building where the plane had crashed, were missing. 'Other helpers and cooks managed to escape but my mother and daughter have been missing since yesterday,' Ravi told Arab News. 'We are frantically hoping against hope to have my family back. It was a horrible incident. It seemed as if the sky had fallen on us.' Indian Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said a formal investigation headed by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has been launched. Boeing said it was in touch with Air India and stood 'ready to support them' over the incident. The UK and US air accident investigation agencies also announced they were sending teams to support their Indian counterparts. India, the world's third-largest aviation market, has endured several fatal air crashes on its soil, including in 1996, when two planes collided mid-air over New Delhi, killing around 350 people. In 2010, an Air-India Express jet crashed and burst into flames at Mangalore airport in south-west India, killing 158 of the 166 passengers and crew onboard.
Arab News
14 hours ago
- Arab News
India in mourning after deadliest aviation disaster in decades
NEW DELHI: Indian authorities were combing the site of one of India's deadliest aviation disasters on Friday, after an Air India plane crashed in the western city of Ahmedabad less than a minute after takeoff, killing all but one of its passengers. The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which had 242 people on board, killed dozens more people when it crashed into a medical college hostel just outside Ahmedabad airport and burst into flames on Thursday afternoon. The sole survivor, a British citizen of Indian origin, is being treated in hospital, the airline confirmed. 'We are all devastated by the air tragedy in Ahmedabad. The loss of so many lives in such a sudden and heartbreaking manner is beyond words. Condolences to all the bereaved families,' Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on social media after visiting the crash site in the capital of his home state of Gujarat. The passengers comprised 169 Indian citizens, 53 Britons, 7 Portuguese and a Canadian. The surviving passenger, who was in seat 11A next to an emergency exit in front of the plane's wing, reportedly managed to jump out. He told Indian media that he had heard a loud noise shortly after flight AI171 took off. Various footage showed the plane taking off over a residential area and then sinking and disappearing from the screen, before a huge fireball could be seen rising into the sky from beyond the houses. Those killed on board include a family visiting India for Eid, a newlywed who was moving to the UK and Vijay Rupani, former chief minister of Gujarat. Health authorities are conducting DNA tests to identify bodies, most of which were charred beyond recognition. Suresh Khatika, who was waiting at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital where the DNA testing was taking place, said his niece Payal Khatika was among the passengers. 'Payal was going for further studies and she has taken a loan for it. She was really preparing herself for the day when she would go to the UK for studies,' Khatika told Arab News. 'It is really tragic that her dream crashed like this. We are in deep pain, and don't know how to react.' Many Indians have taken to social media to mourn the victims, as their stories circulated widely. Among them is Dr. Pratik Joshi, who was reportedly bringing his wife, Dr. Komi Vyas, and three young children to move to the UK. A picture of the family, believed to be taken on the plane and shared with relatives before takeoff, has garnered millions of views online as messages of condolence poured in. In addition to the passengers and crew, dozens more people caught in the path of the plane crash perished. Thakur Ravi, a cook at B.J. Medical College, said his mother and 2-year-old daughter, who were on the side of the building where the plane crashed, were missing. 'Other helpers and cooks managed to escape but my mother and daughter have been missing since yesterday,' Ravi told Arab News. 'We are frantically hoping against hope to have my family back. It was a horrible incident. It seemed as if the sky had fallen on us.' India's Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said a formal investigation led by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has been launched. Boeing said it was in touch with Air India and stood 'ready to support them' over the incident. The UK and US air accident investigation agencies also announced they were sending teams to support their Indian counterparts. India, the world's third-largest aviation market, has suffered several fatal air crashes on its soil, including in 1996, when two planes collided in mid-air over New Delhi, killing about 350 people. In 2010, an Air-India Express jet crashed and burst into flames at Mangalore airport in south-west India, killing 158 of the 166 passengers and crew onboard.
Saudi Gazette
15 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
'I walked out of rubble': Survivor on how he escaped Air India wreckage
AHMEDABAD — The British man who was the sole survivor of Thursday's Air India plane crash said he managed to escape the wreckage through an opening in the fuselage. "I managed to unbuckle myself, used my leg to push through that opening, and crawled out," Vishwashkumar Ramesh told Indian state media DD News. Ramesh, 40, was in seat 11A on the London-bound Boeing 787 flight when it went down shortly after take off in Ahmedabad, western India on Thursday. Air India said all other passengers and crew were killed — including 169 Indian nationals and 52 British nationals. More than 200 bodies have been recovered so far, though it is unclear how many were passengers and how many were from the ground. Speaking from his hospital bed, Ramesh said the lights inside the aircraft "started flickering" moments after take off. Within five to 10 seconds, it felt like the plane was "stuck in the air", he said. "The lights started flickering green and slammed into a building and exploded." The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed into a building used as accommodation for doctors at the Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Medical College and Civil Hospital. But Ramesh, from Leicester, said the section he was sitting in landed near the ground and did not make contact with the building. "When the door broke and I saw there was some space, I tried to get out of there and I did. "No one could have got out from the opposite side, which was toward the wall, because it crashed there." Video shared on social media showed Ramesh walking toward an ambulance with smoke billowing in the background. He told the Indian broadcaster he could not believe that he came out of the wreckage alive. "I saw people dying in front of my eyes — the air hostesses, and two people I saw near me," he said. "For a moment, I felt like I was going to die too, but when I opened my eyes and looked around, I realized I was alive. "I still can't believe how I survived. I walked out of the rubble." Dr Dhaval Gameti, who treated Ramesh, said he was "disorientated, with multiple injuries all over his body", but that he appears to be "out of danger". On Friday morning, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the crash site before making his way to the hospital to meet injured people including Ramesh, and the families of victims. Ramesh's brother, Ajay, was also onboard the plane. Their other brother, Nayan Kumar Ramesh, told BBC News on Thursday from outside their family home in Leicester: "When he [Vishwashkumar] called us, he was just more worried about [Ajay]... that's all he cares about at the moment." Ramesh, a businessman who was born in India but has lived in the UK since 2003, has a wife and four-year-old son. — BBC
