Trend summary
- Airline crashes in India are rare, but each one is costly. 260 people died when Air India flight AI171 crashed after take-off from Ahmedabad on 12 June 2025.
- Government figures given to the Lok Sabha counted 8 civil air accidents and 274 deaths in 2025 up to late July, and 18 accidents involving scheduled Indian aircraft since 2015.
- Most accidents involve small aircraft: flying schools, charter operators and helicopters, including repeated crashes on the Kedarnath pilgrim route.
- Oversight has improved on paper. An ICAO audit in November 2022 lifted India’s safety oversight score to 85.49%, from 69.95%. The final AI171 report is still pending.
What the numbers show
On 12 June 2025 an Air India Boeing 787-8 with 242 people on board crashed less than a minute after leaving Ahmedabad for London Gatwick. The investigators’ preliminary report lists 241 deaths on board and 19 on the ground; one passenger survived. It found that both engine fuel control switches moved from RUN to CUTOFF, one second apart, just after the aircraft reached 180 knots. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha on 31 July 2025, the Minister of State for Civil Aviation said there had been 8 accidents that year, killing 274 people: one scheduled airliner, three training aircraft and four helicopters (PTI via The Week).
The longer record is quieter. The same reply counted 18 accidents to Indian scheduled aircraft from 2015. An analysis of AAIB data by Factly found 102 accidents and 121 serious incidents between July 2012 and April 2025, with the most accidents (12) in 2022. Earlier disasters still shape the rules: 158 people died at Mangalore in May 2010 (PIB), and 21 died when an Air India Express Boeing 737 overran the tabletop runway at Kozhikode in August 2020 (AAIB final report).
What is driving it
Most accidents happen away from the big airlines. Flying schools, charter firms and helicopter operators make up the bulk of the AAIB report list, and the Kedarnath pilgrim route in Uttarakhand appears again and again: crashes there were investigated in 2013, 2019, 2022, 2023 and twice in 2025. Traffic keeps growing too. Airlines carried a record 5,38,429 (538,429) domestic passengers on a single day, 23 November 2025 (Ministry of Civil Aviation).
After AI171 the regulator tightened checks. A DGCA surveillance sweep in June 2025 found recurring aircraft defects, maintenance lapses and a simulator running outdated software. The ministry has since announced a dedicated helicopter directorate within DGCA and a grading system for flying schools from 1 October 2025 (Year End Review). Airlines reported 514, 528 and 448 technical defects to DGCA in 2021, 2022 and 2023 (Lok Sabha answer).
Recent cases
- 15 July 2026: In an affidavit to the Supreme Court, the AAIB said a draft final report on the AI171 crash was expected in October 2026 (PTI via Telangana Today).
- 12 June 2026: On the first anniversary of AI171, the AAIB said the final report will come only after all technical work and the international review under ICAO Annex 13 are complete (PIB).
- 28 January 2026: A Learjet 45 crashed at Baramati, Maharashtra, killing all five people on board, including Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. The AAIB took over the investigation (PIB).
Press releases and official reports, 2023–2026
Up to five key releases a year for the last four years, newest first. Most come from Government of India ministries through the Press Information Bureau (PIB), national agencies such as NCRB, the Reserve Bank of India and the National Center for Seismology, and state governments; a few news reports and data analyses are included where they are the clearest public record of an event. Releases from 2007–2022 are in the expandable list after 2023.
2026
- 12 Jun 2026Ministry of Civil Aviation (AAIB)AAIB Interim Statement on the Progress of Investigation into the Accident Involving Air India Flight AI-171
- 12 Feb 2026Ministry of Civil Aviation (AAIB)AAIB Clarifies: Investigation into AI-171 Accident Ongoing; Media Reports Speculative
- 29 Jan 2026Ministry of Civil AviationMoCA initiated immediate investigative mechanisms following unfortunate aircraft accident near Baramati
- 28 Jan 2026Ministry of Civil AviationLearjet 45 aircraft VT-SSK crash at Baramati Airport of M/s VSR Ventures PVT LTD
- 21 Jan 2026Ministry of Civil AviationYear End Review of Ministry of Civil Aviation
2025
- 12 Jul 2025Aircraft Accident Investigation BureauPreliminary Report: Accident involving Air India's B787-8 aircraft bearing registration VT-ANB at Ahmedabad on 12 June 2025
- 24 Jun 2025Ministry of Civil AviationDGCA carries out comprehensive surveillance at major airports, including Delhi and Mumbai
- 17 Jun 2025Ministry of Civil AviationDGCA Reviews Operations of Air India and Air India Express
- 15 Jun 2025Ministry of Civil AviationHelicopter Accident in Kedarnath Sector today
- 14 Jun 2025Ministry of Civil AviationCivil Aviation Minister Shri Ram Mohan Naidu addresses Media on AI171 Crash; Announces Multi-Level Investigations and Visionary Safety Reforms
2024
- 12 Jan 2024Ministry of DefenceIndian Air Force AN-32 (K-2743)
2023
No release from this year could be verified online.
View 20 years of major Indian aviation safety press releases (2007–2026)10 more from 2007–2022, up to five a year, newest first
2022
- 12 Dec 2022Ministry of Civil AviationImprovement in Aviation Safety Ranking
2021
- 2021Aircraft Accident Investigation BureauFinal Investigation Report on Accident involving M/S Air India Express Limited B737-800 Aircraft VT-AXH on 07 August 2020 at Kozhikode
2019
- 3 Jul 2019Ministry of DefenceAir Crash
- 13 Jun 2019Ministry of DefenceIndian Air Force AN-32 Aircraft Crash
2015
- 27 Feb 2015Ministry of DefenceAircraft and Helicopter Crashes
2010
- 23 May 2010Ministry of Civil AviationAir India Announces Interim Compensation for Mangalore Air Tragedy Victims
- 22 May 2010Ministry of Civil AviationUpdate at 1700 Hrs on Plane Crash at Mangalore Airport
- 22 May 2010Ministry of Civil AviationPraful Patel Visits Mangalore Plane Accident Site; DGCA Initiates Inquiry
- 22 May 2010Ministry of Petroleum & Natural GasPetroleum Minister Directs Mangalore Refinaries to Provide Relief Support to Air Crash Victims
- 22 May 2010Ministry of DefenceAntony Offers Condolence to Bereaved Families of Mangalore Air Crash Victims
Many years list fewer than five items, and some have none yet. Older Government of India releases are hard to find at their original addresses, and we only list items we could open and check. We are still adding to these lists. Where a page shows no date, the date comes from the release address or the publisher’s own index.
Photo list
How this page is built. Figures come from the official statistical releases linked above; where agencies publish provisional numbers we say so, because they are revised. Many Indian statistics are compiled state by state and published a year or two late (NCRB’s accident report for 2024 came out in 2026), so we say which year each figure covers. Large numbers are written in international form, with lakh (100,000) and crore (10 million) in brackets where Indian sources use them. Photos are public-domain or Creative Commons images credited in each caption; file photos are illustrative and are not from the events described unless the caption says so. This page tracks trends and is not personal safety, medical, legal or financial advice.