The report states that the fuel switches for both engines were moved to the cut-off position almost immediately after takeoff, though the reason for this action remains unclear
The AAIB's preliminary report reveals Air India pilots' final exchange before the crash, where both engines shut down mid-air after fuel switches moved to cutoff; 260 people were killed
Updated On : 12 Jul 2025 | 9:16 AM ISTBoeing issued a statement after the AAIB preliminary report revealed that a mid-air fuel cutoff led to the fatal plane crash in Ahmedabad
Updated On : 12 Jul 2025 | 9:04 AM ISTOn June 12, the airline's Boeing 787-8 plane operating flight AI 171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick crashed soon after take off and 260 people died in the accident
Updated On : 12 Jul 2025 | 6:48 AM ISTUK Civil Aviation Authority echoes FAA, says Boeing aircraft pose no safety risk as India and South Korea mandate inspections after AI171 crash findings
Between 2012 and 2025, the AAIB investigated 99 air accidents, 13 of which involved commercial airlines.
A month after Air India crash, DGCA has asked all airlines to inspect Boeing 737 and 787 fuel switches for locking faults
A spokesperson for the South Korean transport ministry said the checks were in line with a 2018 advisory from the FAA, but did not give a timeline for inspections
Asks employees not to be distracted by speculation and sensational headlines, and avoid forming conclusions based on the preliminary report
Until the official investigation is concluded and the final report is published, any speculation, especially of such a grave nature, is unacceptable and must be condemned, the ICPA said
They flag its 'vague' language and omission of key technical details
The Air India AI171 crash highlights the critical role of fuel control switches, which caused a dual-engine failure just after takeoff, leading to the tragic loss of 260 lives
The problem with the AAIB's 15-page report is that it has sparked damaging speculation about "pilot error" or, worse, pilot suicide
The FAA's Continued Airworthiness Notification on July 11 came after a preliminary report on Friday into last month's Boeing 787-8 crash
Experts say Air India crash victims will receive compensation regardless of fault, with the insurance payout unaffected by pilot error or systemic failures
It will be too premature to draw conclusions on the role of pilots from the preliminary investigation report into the fatal crash of Air India plane last month and the final report will mention about the most probable cause for the accident, former AAIB chief Aurobindo Handa said on Sunday. A day after the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released its preliminary report into the crash that killed 260 people, he said, "We should allow AAIB to complete the investigation in a fair, unbiased and transparent manner." Handa has investigated more than 100 aircraft accidents, including the Air India Express plane crash in Kozhikode in 2020. "AAIB has done a good job. Going forward, they will now focus to find out as to why and how these fuel switches moved and whether there could have been any mechanical and/or electrical failures/malfunction," he told PTI. The report, released on Saturday, said the fuel switches of the crashed Boeing 787-8 plane's engines were cut off within
The last three major air crashes in India-Patna (2000), Mangaluru (2010), and Kozhikode (2020)-offer critical safety insights, with recommendations for improving aviation safety
Senior lecturer at Buckinghamshire New University and former pilot Marco Chan said that although the report did not explicitly exonerate the two pilots from human error
Union Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu on Saturday said that it is immature to jump to conclusions at the juncture over the recent Air India flight crash in Ahmedabad, as the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has only released the preliminary report. On June 12, a London-bound Air India flight, AI 171, crashed immediately after take off in Ahmedabad, killing 260 people. "So, let's not jump to any conclusions at this stage. Let us wait for the final report. These are technical things and that is why we have these investigation agencies. Once they are clear..., they are going to submit the final report. At this stage it will be very immature for me to comment on it," said Naidu. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of an official programme in the port city, the aviation minister heaped praise on the AAIB, Indian pilots and cabin crews, calling them the 'best' in the world. He also underscored that 'justice' has to be done to the family members of one of India's worst
The UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) on Sunday said that it is in the process of reviewing its Indian counterpart's preliminary report into the London-bound Air India AI171 plane crash moments after take-off from Ahmedabad last month. The report by the Indian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is based on the initial findings of their probe into the crash, whcih claimed the lives of all but one of the 242 passengers and crew. The UK AAIB is also part of the investigatory process as it involved the death of 52 British nationals on board. The UK AAIB welcomes the publication of this preliminary report, which is a summary of factual information uncovered so far by the AAIB India investigation, UK AAIB said in a statement. The UK AAIB are in process of reviewing this preliminary report in detail and remains in communication with AAIB India. The UK AAIB has expert' status in the Indian safety investigation. In accordance with international protocols, release of .
Seconds before Air India flight 171 crashed while ascending from Ahmedabad, the fuel control switches of both its engines were cut off, a preliminary investigation report said on Saturday, suggesting a catastrophic pilot error. The Airlines Pilots Association of India disagreed with the report, saying the investigation is "shrouded in secrecy" appears to be biased against the pilot and has come to a conclusion hastily. The report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AIIB) neither concluded any reason for the switches moving nor apportioned explicit blame for the crash. It also did not identify the pilots in the voice recording. At the controls was First Officer Clive Kunder, 32, while Sumeet Sabharwal, a veteran with 30 years of experience at Air India, was the senior cockpit occupant in command monitoring the flight. Below are brief profiles of the two pilots: Captain Sumeet Sabharwal: The 56-year-old veteran with 30 years of experience at Air India had logged 15,638 fl
Air India on Saturday said it will take on board its pilot community by holding dedicated sessions in the coming days to review the preliminary investigation report of the Ahmedabad plane crash on June 12. The 15-page preliminary report by Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AIIB), released early on Saturday, has found that the fuel supply to both engines of Air India flight AI171 was cut off within a second of each other, causing confusion in the cockpit and the airplane plummeting back to ground almost immediately after taking off. On June 12, the London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner began to lose thrust almost immediately after taking off from the Ahmedabad airport and ploughed into a medical college hostel, killing all but one of the 242 onboard and another 19 on the ground in the deadliest aviation accident in a decade. "Preliminary investigation report has been officially released in the recent tragic accident involving our flight AI 171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick on .
Airline Pilots' Association of India on Saturday demanded a fair and fact-based probe into the Air India plane crash as it claimed that the tone and direction of the investigation into the Air India plane crash suggests a bias towards pilot error. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has released its preliminary report into the fatal Boeing 787-8 plane crash on June 12 that killed 260 people. The report has found that the fuel supply to both engines of Air India flight AI171 was cut off within a second of each other, causing confusion in the cockpit and the airplane plummeting back to ground almost immediately after taking off. The 15-page report says that in the cockpit voice recording, one unidentified pilot asked the other why he had cut off the fuel, which the other denied. "The tone and direction of the investigation suggest a bias towards pilot error... ALPA India categorically rejects this presumption and insists on a fair, fact-based inquiry," Airline Pilots' ..
Naidu further stated that pilots and crew are the backbone of the aviation industry and assured that all necessary steps would be taken to uphold safety standards