First fatal crash of Boeing 787 since it took off in 2011

Hindustan Times

12-06-2025

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner that crashed in Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff on Thursday represents the first crash of the widely popular long-haul aircraft since it entered service in 2011.
Air India Flight 171, bound for London with 242 passengers and crew aboard, went down shortly after departing Ahmedabad airport. Boeing shares tumbled more than 8 per cent following news of the crash.
As per Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, VT-ANB had more than 41,000 hours of flying time, and almost 8,000 take-offs and landings, including some 700 cycles in the past 12 months. This is average for that aircraft build year/period.
There are 1,148 Boeing 787 variants in service globally, with an average age of 7.5 years old.
'The 787 has been in revenue service with Air India under government management for 15 years, and it has been one of the safest Gen5+ passenger airliners ever made. It's shocking that there was a catastrophic incident on a plane with qualified crew and extensive experience in flying hours and maintenance,' said Mark D Martin, MRAeS (Member of the Royal Aeronautical Society UK)and CEO of Martin Consulting.
Aviation consultant John M Cox, the chief executive of Safety Operating Systems, told the AP from Los Angeles that while the first images of the crash were poor, it appeared the aircraft had its nose up and was not climbing, which is one of the things that investigators would look at.
'At this point, it's very, very, very early, we don't know a whole lot,' he said. 'But the 787 has very extensive flight data monitoring — the parameters on the flight data recorder are in the thousands — so once we get that recorder, they'll be able to know pretty quickly what happened.'
The US planemaker said it was ready to support Air India following Thursday's crash.
'We are in contact with Air India regarding Flight 171 and stand ready to support them,' Boeing said in a statement. 'Our thoughts are with the passengers, crew, first responders and all affected.'
The jet involved in Thursday's crash was equipped with GE Aerospace's GEnx-18 engines. 'Deeply saddened by the loss of Air India flight AI-171; activated our emergency response team, and we are prepared to support our customer and the investigation,' the enginemaker said in a statement.
Boeing has secured orders for more than 2,500 of the 787s and has delivered 1,189 jets to airlines or lessors worldwide. The aircraft's creation marked a breakthrough in design, promising 20 per cent greater fuel efficiency through the use of durable, lightweight composite materials and more electrical systems.
The 787 first flew in 2011 and entered service the same year after development delays. But its early years were plagued with problems, though none resulted in fatalities until Thursday's crash.
In July 2013, a fire broke out on an empty Ethiopian Airlines 787 parked at Heathrow Airport, causing extensive heat damage but no injuries. The blaze was traced to lithium-manganese dioxide batteries powering an emergency locator transmitter. Battery problems and wiring issues prompted safety investigations by aviation authorities in the US, Japan and Europe.
Air India's relationship with the 787 has been particularly challenging since the carrier ordered 27 Dreamliners. The airline had experienced 136 technical problems with its 787 fleet as of late 2013, according to India's aviation ministry. These included software faults that forced flight diversions, cracked windshields, and various other malfunctions that prompted Boeing to upgrade software and replace components whenever aircraft could be taken out of service.
Air India had 34 of the Boeing 787 in service at the time of the incident, including this aircraft.
The airline has an additional 20 787 on order and letter of intent for options an additional 24 aircraft.
The crash adds to broader scrutiny of Boeing, which has been involved in several high-profile accidents in recent years. Two fatal crashes involving the 737 Max—Lion Air Flight 610 in October 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in March 2019—led to a worldwide grounding of that aircraft type.
(With Bloomberg inputs)