Air India pilot gave Mayday call to Ahmedabad ATC before crash, says DGCA

Soon after the takeoff, the pilot of ill-fated Air India aircraft gave a Mayday call to the Ahmedabad air traffic controller.

However, thereafter no response was given by the aircraft to the calls made by ATC, aviation regulator DGCA said in a statement.

At around 2 pm, the London-bound Air India plane carrying 242 passengers and crew crashed moments after taking off from the Ahmedabad airport. Several casualties are feared.

The aircraft was under the command of Capt Sumeet Sabharwal with First Officer Clive Kundar, DGCA said. Capt Sumeet Sabharwal is a LTC with 8200 hours of experience. The co-pilot had 1100 hours of flying experience.

As per ATC, the aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1339 IST (0809 UTC) from Runway 23. It gave a MAYDAY Call to ATC, but thereafter no response was given by the aircraft to the calls made by ATC, according to the DGCA statement.

The aircraft immediately after departure from Runway 23 fell on the ground outside the airport perimeter, it said adding heavy black smoke was seen coming from the accident site. The Boeing aircraft, which could be seen losing altitude quickly, crashed in Meghaninagar area near the airport.

“On Jun 12, 2025, Air India B787 Aircraft VT-ANB while operating flight AI-171 from (Ahmedabad to Gatwick) has crashed immediately after takeoff from Ahmedabad. There were 242 persons on board the aircraft consisting of 2 pilots and 10 cabin crew,” DGCA said in the statement.