Safety Lessons from the Plane Crash in Ahmedabad

The recent Air India Plane crash on 12 June 2025 in Ahmedabad, where a total of 274 lives lost, is a reminder how safety in aviation is vulnerable. That flight crashed shortly after takeoff which killed 241 people on-board and after hitting the ground, it is believed to have killed another 39 and injured others.

Incident Summary
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Air India Flight AI171, was a flight from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, but crashed immediately after taking off. The airplane crashed into the cafeteria of BJ Medical College's student hostel.

Key safety lessons include.
•Improved Aircraft checks before flight:
Aircraft checks and validation should be rigorous prior to flight. If the aircraft showed any sign of issues with brakes, electrical systems, etc., it should not operate the flight until these items were fully repaired. There are no exceptions either, as the life of passengers is at stake!
•Clear Communication in Emergencies:
During emergencies, there must be clear and timely communications between pilot and air traffic controllers. Regular drills will maintain the calm of passengers, and encourage qualified individuals, air traffic controllers etc. to adhere to a plan, which will ultimately see a good outcome in serious situations.
•Passenger Briefings and Evacuations Drills:
Appropriate, clear briefs about bracing, exits, and seat belts, prior to the passengers buckling in will develop early resilience. Classification systems, quick apps to review, short brochures about opening doors, staying low, and moving fast once evacuating may assist in achieving a successful evacuation.
•Regulatory Oversight: Aviation regulators should perform more surprise inspections on all airlines. This will ensure that all airlines follow safety guidelines and take corrective actions when needed.

Preventative Measures
Ongoing Maintenance
Airlines must comply with ongoing maintenance schedules for their fleet whereby they must daily check every aircraft in their fleet performing any scheduled maintenance checks, heavy checks, and repairs on the incoming aircraft.
Crew Training
Crew must routinely revisit training programs with pilots and cabin crew on the fundamentals of managing emergencies and working cooperatively in high-stress incidents.
Technology
Airlines can better incorporate safety technology into their airline safety operations. Weather radar systems continue to evolve, and ground collision warning provide pilots a level of assistance to avoid potential incidents.
Passenger Awareness
Airlines need to take up the mantle of educating passengers better on easier safety procedures that passengers can easily comprehend and, remember should they need to.

Suggestions for Future Prevention
In terms of enhancing safety practices, there are a number of recommendations.
Emerging Safety Technologies - Utilizing a weather radar or terrain awareness warning system will assist pilots in decision making to prevent incidents.
Pilot Training - There are a number of organizations that are involved in pilot training including public awareness of emergency incidents, updates on crew resource management, and more recently, aviation accident case studies and lifestyle aspects to be mindful of as a commercial pilot.
Regulations - It is necessary to have and enforce a wide range of compliance regulations for aviation safety. Regulations that can bring commercial airlines into and maintain a high level of aviation safety and to examine issues that occur before they happen.

Investigations and Responses
Investigations into this planes crash are undertaken by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) with assistance from various aviation competent agencies including the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) with respect to determining the cause of the crash as soon as the Cockpit Voice Recorder ((CVR) and Digital Flight Data Recorder are located.

Conclusion
Clearly the aviation industry will take note of this Ahmedabad plane crash and hopefully learn from it. By learning about this incident and using safety lessons, preventative measures, and suggestions for preventative measures in the future, the aviation industry can begin to develop a safer future for air travel.

By: Shruti Shrivastav