Air India flight crashes soon after takeoff with 240 aboard

The passenger plane came down Thursday in a residential area in India’s northwestern city of Ahmedabad with 242 people on board, according to flight operator Air India. Of those on board, only one survived the crash, the operator said. That individual was hospitalized as of Thursday evening. Flight AI171 to England left Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at about 1:30 p.m. local time, according to the airline. It was due to land at London’s Gatwick airport Thursday evening but crashed five minutes after takeoff into a neighborhood called Meghani Nagar, civil aviation authorities told The Associated Press. The crew made a Mayday call to air traffic control shortly after takeoff, according to India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Officials reopened the airport and resumed flights hours after the crash.

On Thursday morning it was unclear what caused the crash. Video footage of the incident posted online showed the aircraft descending into the neighborhood shortly after takeoff before it crashed into the buildings.

What else do we know about those on board? According to Air India, 169 passengers were Indian nationals, 53 were British nationals, seven were Portuguese citizens, and one was from Canada. The plane was also carrying 12 crew members. The plane crashed into a hostel operated by the B.J. Medical College, according to local news reports. It was unclear Thursday morning if anyone at the college or elsewhere on the ground had died in the crash.

What is known about the plane? The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner involved in the crash began flying in 2013, according to Flightradar24. The accident was the first time a Boeing Dreamliner has crashed since its commercial introduction in 2011. The model involved in Thursday’s crash was capable of carrying up to 248 people.

Dig deeper: Read my report about a plane crash late last year in South Korea that killed 179 people.