Ahmedabad India (Agencies) July 13, 2025 — India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has released its preliminary report on the tragic crash of Air India Flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that went down just 32 seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad on June 12, killing 260 people, including passengers, crew, and civilians on the ground.
The report identifies a sudden dual-engine shutdown as the critical event: both fuel cutoff switches were moved from “RUN” to “CUTOFF” within one second of each other, causing an immediate loss of thrust at an altitude of just 650 feet. The switches were later found in the “RUN” position in the wreckage, suggesting the pilots attempted to restore power, but the aircraft was too low to recover.
The cockpit voice recorder captured a moment of confusion between the pilots. One asked, “Why did you cut off?” and the other replied, “I did not do so,” indicating neither pilot intentionally shut down the engines. The flight data recorder confirmed normal operations until the cutoff event, with no prior system anomalies.
No mechanical faults or design flaws were found in the aircraft or its GE GEnx-1B engines, and all maintenance records were up to date. However, the AAIB has not ruled out sabotage, and further investigation is underway with support from Boeing, GE, and international safety agencies.
The crash has sparked criticism of Western media coverage, with commentators like Varun Grover and Gaurav Taneja accusing outlets of prematurely blaming the pilots and absolving Boeing. Aviation experts caution against drawing conclusions until the final report, expected within 12 months, is released.