Air India Plane Crashes After Takeoff Killing Dozens

Tragedy struck in India on Thursday when an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, carrying 242 people, crashed just moments after taking off from Ahmedabad Airport. The catastrophic incident has left dozens dead, with more feared to have perished as rescue efforts continue.

The flight, bound for Gatwick Airport in Britain, crashed into a densely populated civilian area, striking a doctors’ hostel at a local medical college. Harrowing footage circulating online shows the aircraft losing altitude over a residential neighborhood before vanishing from view, followed by a massive explosion that lit up the skyline.

• Among the 242 passengers, 11 were children.

• The manifest included 53 British citizens, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian.

• The plane issued a "Mayday" signal at 1:39 p.m. local time before losing all communication.

Eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos as emergency crews rushed to the site. Local hospitals were quickly overwhelmed, with video footage showing injured passengers being wheeled in on stretchers. Authorities continue to search the wreckage for survivors and confirm the total number of casualties.

While the Boeing 787 Dreamliner has previously faced technical issues, this marks the model’s first fatal crash since its introduction. Boeing, already embroiled in safety scandals, recently agreed to pay nearly $1 billion to the U.S. government to settle charges over its 737 MAX disasters that claimed 346 lives.

This incident adds to the growing list of safety failures that have plagued Boeing in recent years:

• In 2018 and 2019, two separate crashes of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft led to a worldwide grounding of the model.

• A January 2024 incident involving a Boeing 737 MAX 9 resulted in a door plug blowing out mid-flight, further damaging public confidence.

One of the passengers aboard the doomed Air India flight was Vijay Rupani, the former chief minister of Gujarat. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who hails from Gujarat, expressed his condolences, calling the disaster "heartbreaking beyond words."

The horrifying crash highlights the escalating crisis surrounding Boeing’s manufacturing and oversight failures. As investigations unfold, many are demanding answers and accountability not just from Air India, but from Boeing and international aviation regulators who continue to allow these troubled aircraft to operate.

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