The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has published its preliminary findings into the tragic crash of Air India Flight 171, which claimed 260 lives, making it the deadliest air disaster in India in decades. The 15-page report, released a month after the June 12 crash, offers the first official insight into the sequence of events that led to the Boeing 787-8 going down shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad.
According to the report, dramatic cockpit voice recordings captured a moment of confusion and alarm between the pilots. One was heard asking, ‘Why did you cut off?’ — referring to the sudden loss of fuel supply to the engines. The other pilot replied, ‘I did not do so’. This exchange suggests that neither crew member intentionally activated the fuel cutoff switches, deepening the mystery surrounding the simultaneous dual-engine failure.
The AAIB stated that both engines lost fuel almost simultaneously, with the fuel control switches flipping from the ‘RUN’ to ‘CUTOFF’ position within one second of each other. These switches are critical as they regulate the fuel flow necessary to keep the engines running.
The abrupt shutdown of both engines triggered the deployment of the aircraft’s Ram Air Turbine (RAT), a backup system designed to provide limited emergency power. Despite its activation, the aircraft quickly lost altitude and was unable to maintain controlled flight, crashing into a residential area near the airport.
Wreckage from the Boeing 787-8, including its tail section, was photographed two days later on June 14 in the heart of the neighborhood where the plane came down.
At this stage, the AAIB has not issued any recommendations for Boeing, the aircraft’s manufacturer, or General Electric, which supplies the GE GEnx-1B engines used on the aircraft. This comes even as Boeing faces mounting scrutiny over safety issues.
In response, Boeing stated: “We will defer to the AAIB to provide updates on the investigation into Flight AI171, in line with Annex 13 of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s protocols.”
The investigation remains ongoing as authorities work to determine what caused the unexpected fuel cutoff that led to one of India’s most catastrophic aviation incidents.
