Air India disaster is first fatal Boeing 787 accident

News agency

Thomson Reuters

More than 200 people were killed when an Air India Boeing 787 bound for London with 242 people on board crashed minutes after taking off from India's western city of Ahmedabad on Thursday.

Read: Air India plane with 242 on board crashes in Ahmedabad

The 787-8 aircraft involved in Thursday's accident was delivered in 2014 and is the smallest of three variants.
The 787-8 typically holds 248 passengers and the larger and longer-range 787-9 carries 296 people. The largest variant, the 787-10, which also has the smallest range, has 336 seats, according to Boeing data.
The twin-engined 787 comes with a choice of two types of engine, supplied by GE Aerospace or Britain's Rolls-Royce. The engines on the crashed plane were supplied by GE, which said it would support the investigation.
Boeing has sold more than 2,500 787s, including 47 to Air India. It has delivered 1,189 jets to airlines or lessors, but has been beset in recent years by production delays, adding to a broader corporate crisis at America's largest exporter.
The 787 first flew in 2011 and entered service in the same year after development delays.
Its creation marked a breakthrough in design, promising 20 percent greater fuel efficiency through the use of durable, lightweight composite materials and more electrical systems.
Its size, range and efficiency made it ideal for opening new routes, bypassing hubs served by jumbos such as the Boeing 747 and Airbus A380 and helping drive both jets out of production.
Airbus followed suit by developing the A350 composite jet.
The 787 also pioneered a new way of building planes, outsourcing much of the structure and components to companies around the world and assembling the pieces in Everett, Washington, and later North Charleston, South Carolina.