Air India disaster: Eleven planes that crashed after take-off in the past and the reasons behind

An Air India flight to London crashed into a residential neighbourhood in Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff on Thursday, erupting in a huge fireball and killing all on board, except one. Miraculously, one passenger ejected from the aircraft survived. The victims included medical students who were staying in a college hostel struck by the plane.

Air India’s flight 171 — a Boeing 787 Dreamliner — issued a mayday call and crashed immediately after take off. Data shows that the last recorded altitude of the plane was at 625 feet off the ground just immediately after take off. It flew just 2 Kms more.

Notably this is the first time a 787 Dreamliner had crashed, and Boeing is gathering more details to see if there were any technical faults. Latest reports show that investigators have recovered the black box recorder and soon the exact reason for the crash will emerge.

A key question is: how did the aircraft crash just minutes after takeoff? Analysis of past takeoff accidents points to several common causes: instrument or warning-system failures; collisions with debris or obstacles near the runway; in-flight structural breakups; improper use of rudder or control surfaces; skipped checklists, including flap and slat settings; and tyre damage from runway debris.

Here’s a lowdown:

1. Air India Flight AI 855

Date: January 1, 1978

Source: Mumbai

Destination: Dubai

Company: Air India

Flight: Boeing 747

Flight time: One minute

Persons: 190 passengers + 23 crew (all died)

Cause: Flight AI 855 plunged into the sea near the airport, off the coast of Bandra, within 3 km of flying distance at night due to disorientation of the captain soon after instrument failure, killing all the 190 passengers and 23 crew members on board. The flight was headed to Dubai.

According to the investigation report, the aircraft, after one minute of take-off, took a right turn after crossing the coastline and soon after turned to left and never gained level. It lost altitude and then nosedived into the sea.

2. Indian Airlines Flight 491

Date: April 26, 1993

Source: Aurangabad

Destination: Hopping flight on the Delhi-Jaipur-Udaipur-Aurangabad-Bombay route

Company: Indian Airlines

Flight: Boeing 737

Flight time: Within minutes of take off

Persons: 118 passengers + 6 crew (55 died)

Cause: An aircraft carrying 118 people took off from Aurangabad but crashed shortly after takeoff, killing 55 passengers. The plane lifted off near the end of the runway but struck a lorry carrying pressed cotton bales that was passing on a highway approximately 410 feet from the runway’s end.

The impact—at a height of around seven feet—damaged the aircraft’s left main landing gear, engine cowling, and thrust reverser. Moments later, the aircraft collided with high-tension power lines nearly three kilometres northeast of the runway and crashed into the ground. A post-impact fire engulfed the aircraft, leading to its complete destruction.

3. British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) Flight 783

Date: May 2, 1953

Source: Calcutta

Destination: Delhi

Flight: Comet jet aircraft

Company: British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC)

Flight time: Six minutes after takeoff

Persons: 43 passengers and crew members (all died)

Cause: BOAC Flight 783 crashed shortly after takeoff from Calcutta en route to Delhi, killing all 43 passengers and crew. The aircraft encountered severe rain and thunderstorms and broke apart mid-air just six minutes after takeoff while climbing to 7,500 feet.

Investigators attributed the crash to structural failure caused by either extreme turbulence or pilot over-control while navigating through the storm. The accident marked the first in a series of structural break-up incidents involving the Comet aircraft.

4. ⁠American Airlines Flight 587

Date: November 12, 2001

Source: New York JFK

Destination: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Company: American Airlines

Flight: Airbus

Time: Minutes after takeoff, before climb

Persons: 251 passengers + 9 crew (all died)

Cause: The accident happened because the plane’s tail fin snapped off in midair. This was caused by the first officer pushing the foot pedals that move the rudder too hard and too often—creating stresses the tail wasn’t built to handle. The way the rudder system works, plus some of the advanced manoeuvre training the airline used, made it easier for those excessive pedal movements to occur.

5. Northwest Airlines Flight 255

Date: August 16, 1987

Source: Detroit

Destination: Phoenix

Company: Northwest Airlines

Flight: McDonnell Douglas MD‑82

Flight time: Seconds, crashed near runway end

Persons: 149 passengers + 6 crew (one infant survived)

Cause: The plane barely lifted off right at the runway’s end, then wobbled left and right before its left wing hit a light pole, smashing into more poles and a car rental building, breaking apart and catching fire. it happened because the crew skipped the taxi checklist and never set the flaps and slats for takeoff, and the warning system had no power to alert them.

6. Spanair Flight 5022

Date: August 20, 2008

Origin: Madrid

Destination: Canary Islands

Flight: McDonnell Douglas MD‑82

Company: Spanair

Flight time: Just after lift-off

Fatalities: 172 onboard (18 survivors)

Cause: Right after takeoff, the pilots forgot to extend the flaps and slats, so the plane stalled and they lost control. They didn’t spot any warning, missed the stall signs, and even pulled back and cut power briefly, which made things worse—all because they skipped the proper flap/slat checklist.

7. Air France Flight 4590 (Concorde)

Date: July 25, 2000

Origin: Paris

Destination: New York

Flight: Concorde supersonic jet

Company: Air France

Flight time: Immediately after take off

Persons: 109 onboard

Cause: Investigators found that a left main landing-gear tire ran over a chunk of sheet metal on the runway and immediately blew out. Debris from the tire slammed into the plane’s underside and wheel well. The biggest piece didn’t puncture the wing, but it caused a sudden pressure spike inside one fuel tank, blowing out panels and leading to a massive fuel leak. 

8.⁠ ⁠Birgenair Flight 301

Date: February 6, 1996

Origin: Puerto Plata

Destination: Frankfurt

Flight: Boeing 757‑200

Company: Birgenair

Flight time: Five minutes after take-off

Persons: 189 onboard (all died)

Cause: Right from the start the captain’s speed gauge wasn’t working, so he relied on the first officer’s. After takeoff his gauge suddenly kicked in and showed the plane speeding up, then during climb it showed the plane was both nose-high and speeding up, triggering a “too fast” alarm.

Thinking it was wrong, they shut that warning off. Moments later the stall warning shook the controls and the autopilot and auto-throttle quit. Mixed signals on pitch, speed, and alarms left them confused, they jiggled power and angle settings, lost control, and about five minutes after takeoff the plane crashed.

9. Santa Bárbara Airlines Flight 518

Date: February 21, 2008

Origin: Mérida

Destination: Caracas

Flight: Twin-turboprop aircraft

Company: Santa Bárbara Airlines

Flight time: Shortly after take-off, crashed approximately 7 minutes and 15 seconds (435 seconds)

Persons: No survivors, All 46 onboard were killed

Cause: Controlled flight into terrain due to pilot navigational error in mountainous region

10. Sriwijaya Air Flight SJ182 Jakarta

Date: 9 Jan 2021

Source: Jakarta

Destination: Pontianak

Flight: Boeing 737-500

Company: Sriwijaya Air

Flight time: Four minutes after take off

Persons: 62 onboard (all died)

Cause: During climb one engine stayed at power while the other cut back, so the plane pulled hard to the left. A faulty spoiler sensor hid the imbalance, and when the autopilot kicked off the plane tilted more than 45° left. Trusting the autopilot and not spotting the odd behavior, the pilots didn’t catch or fix it in time.

11. Delta Air Lines Flight 1141

Date: August 31, 1988

Origin: Dallas/Fort Worth

Destination: Salt Lake City

Company: Delta Air Lines

Flight: Boeing 727-200

Time airborne: Seconds, crashed near runway

Fatalities: 14 of 108 onboard; 76 injured

Cause: The NTSB report found that the aircraft could only have attempted to take off without flaps or slats extended to take-off configuration. The captain pulled back on the control column to keep the nose raised but this created turbulence over the engines and caused the compressor surges.

The aircraft failed to gain speed due to drag caused by the high angle of attack. On the CVR, the flight crew said that the flaps were deployed but no lever sound was recorded, so it seemed that they failed to deploy the flaps and slats.

The aircraft’s take-off warning system failed to alert them to the problem as the switch had been modified to prevent activation whilst taxi-ing.

Compiled by B Renuka Ramakrishna, Safa Salsabeel Z, and Niranjana VB, who are interning with The Hindu Data Team

Sources: The Hindu archives, Bureau of aircraft accidents archives, Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Aviation Safety Council, Federal Aviation Administration, National Transportation Safety Board.

Published - June 13, 2025 08:12 pm IST