Ahmedabad plane crash: Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg speaks with Air India chairman

Mumbai: Boeing President and Chief Executive Officer Kelly Ortberg on Thursday said he has spoken with Air India Chairman N Chandrasekaran, following the crash of an Air India aircraft shortly after takeoff from the Ahmedabad Airport.

"Our deepest condolences go out to the loved ones of the passengers and crew on board Air India Flight 171, as well as everyone affected in Ahmedabad," Ortberg said in a statement.

"I have spoken with Air India Chairman N Chandrasekaran to offer our full support,” he said.

He also said that a Boeing team stands ready to support the investigation led by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.

“Boeing will defer to India’s AAIB to provide information about Air India flight 171, in adherence with the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization protocol,” the US aircraft maker said in the statement.

The London-bound Boeing 787-8 aircraft crashed into a medical college complex and burst into a ball of fire moments after take-off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, possibly killing almost everyone on board in one of the country's worst air disasters.

There were 242 people on board, including 12 crew members. Of the 230 passengers on board, 169 were Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian national, Air India said earlier in the day in a statement.