A shocking video captured the moment an Air India flight bound for London Gatwick crashed into a residential area and exploded into a fireball just moments after take-off.

The Air India flight 171 carrying 242 passengers and crew, including 53 British nationals, careened back to earth in the northwestern Indian city of Ahmedabad just minutes after leaving the runway at 1:17pm.

Horrifying footage on social media shows the plane going down towards a densely built-up area.

At first, the plane appears to be descending in a controlled manner with a high nose angle and landing gear deployed. Continues…