NEW DELHI: A month after the deadliest aviation accident, the Air India 171 crash, a preliminary report is expected from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), offering the first official insight into the cause of the Air India crash. The incident involved a Boeing 787 Dreamliner that went down just 30 seconds after takeoff in Ahmedabad on June 12, killing 241 people on board and over 30 on the ground. Only one passenger survived. The probe has been closely followed, with Bloomberg reporting fresh details citing people familiar with the matter.While the report is likely to be factual and restrained in tone, it could provide critical early clues. Authorities are not expected to assign blame yet, as a full investigation is ongoing. According to Bloomberg, investigators have retrieved both the cockpit voice and flight data recorders, and have extracted their contents.Top Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) officials told the panel that the aircraft’s black box and voice recorder were recovered and were being analysed. Boeing and other international experts are assisting with the ongoing investigation.
What happened in the final 30 seconds?
The aircraft, fully loaded with fuel, lost altitude rapidly and crashed into a student hostel near the airport, leading to a massive explosion. The pilot of Flight AI 171 had issued a mayday call before the crash.Videos of the takeoff showed the flight initially proceeding normally. But according to aerospace analyst Bjorn Fehrm, the landing gear was never retracted and the aircraft began to lose thrust shortly after liftoff. “That’s improbable like hell,” he said, referring to what appeared to be a simultaneous failure of both engines — an extremely rare event.
Focus on fuel control switches
According to Bloomberg, one of the primary lines of inquiry is the possible movement of the fuel control switches, located in the cockpit’s centre console. These switches control the fuel supply to the engines, which are made by GE Aerospace.The Wall Street Journal has also reported that preliminary findings suggest the switches were turned off although it remains unclear whether that happened accidentally or intentionally. Experts say that turning the switches to the cutoff position would stop fuel flow, shutting down the engines in seconds.John Cox, a former airline pilot and now CEO of Safety Operating Systems, told Bloomberg: “If you move those switches from run to cutoff, those engines will stop running in literally seconds.” He said the possibility of an unintentional switch movement cannot be ruled out.
No mechanical fault identified so far
According to people cited by Bloomberg, no evidence has emerged yet of a mechanical or design fault in the Boeing aircraft or GE engines. Neither the FAA nor the manufacturers have issued safety advisories, which typically follow if a broader operational risk is detected.Pilots say the crew likely had too little time and altitude to restart the engines. A key emergency backup device — the ram air turbine — was deployed, which further supports the theory of a dual engine failure.
Pilot experience and human factors
Investigators are also examining the background and experience of the cockpit crew, which is standard procedure. Captain Sumeet Sabharwal had logged 8,200 flight hours, while First Officer Clive Kunder had about 1,100 hours, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.Cox told Bloomberg that accidental shutdowns have occurred in the past. In one 1980s case involving a Delta Air Lines Boeing 767, a pilot mistakenly turned off both engines but was able to restart them thanks to the aircraft’s higher altitude.Another possibility, pilots told Bloomberg, is that the fuel switches were cycled in response to a dual engine failure as part of an emergency checklist but recovery was not feasible due to the jet’s low altitude.As the investigation continues, the preliminary findings are expected to open critical discussions around human error, technical systems, and emergency protocols in modern aviation.