AAIB submits Ahmedabad Air Indian tragedy report to Aviation Ministry

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has submitted its preliminary investigation report to the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation on the tragic crash of Air India Flight AI-171 in Ahmedabad last month, which claimed 275 lives, including 241 onboard and 34 on the ground.

The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members, crashed on June 12 shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The aircraft struck the BJ Medical College hostel near the airport and burst into flames. Only one person survived the deadly incident, according to news agencies.

The AAIB confirmed that the probe is being conducted in accordance with international standards under ICAO Annex 13 and India’s Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2017.

The investigation is being led by the AAIB’s central lab in New Delhi with support from a multinational team of aviation experts — Indian Air Force, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), US-based National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Boeing engineers, specialists in aviation medicine and Air Traffic Control analysts.

These experts are contributing to what the Ministry of Civil Aviation has described as a full-scale and high-priority inquiry into the causes and consequences of the crash.

While the exact cause of the accident has yet to be officially confirmed, the preliminary findings are expected to guide deeper analysis and safety recommendations in the coming weeks.

This incident marks one of the deadliest aviation disasters in India’s recent history and has prompted urgent reviews of flight safety protocols and emergency preparedness across the civil aviation sector.