On June 12, 2025, Air India Flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner operating from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, crashed just 32 seconds after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, India. The catastrophic incident claimed the lives of 241 of the 242 passengers and crew on board, along with over 30 people on the ground, making it one of the deadliest aviation disasters in Indian history. Only one passenger survived the crash, which occurred when the fully fueled aircraft plummeted into a student hostel near the airport, resulting in a massive explosion. The preliminary report from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), released on July 12, 2025, has provided critical insights into the final moments of the flight, particularly focusing on the cockpit voice recordings and the movement of the engine fuel control switches. This article delves into the details of the probe, the last conversation between the pilots, and the ongoing investigation, drawing from multiple sources to provide a comprehensive overview.
The Crash and Its Immediate Aftermath
Air India Flight 171 took off normally on June 12, 2025, with Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a Line Training Captain with over 8,200 flight hours, and First Officer Clive Kunder, who had logged 1,100 hours, at the controls. The aircraft, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, was fully loaded with fuel for the long-haul flight to London. According to videos of the takeoff, the flight initially appeared to proceed without issue. However, just 30 seconds after becoming airborne, the plane issued a mayday call, indicating a severe emergency. Moments later, it crashed into a student hostel complex, causing a devastating explosion that killed 241 people on board and over 30 on the ground. The sole survivor’s identity and condition remain undisclosed, but the scale of the tragedy has drawn global attention.
The crash site was marked by extensive debris, and the recovery of the black box, including the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Enhanced Airborne Flight Recorder (EAFR), was a critical step in the investigation. The black box was retrieved intact by the National Security Guard (NSG) on June 24, with its memory module successfully accessed the following day. This allowed investigators to analyze critical flight data and cockpit audio, which have since become the cornerstone of the preliminary findings.
Preliminary Findings: Fuel Switches and Engine Failure
The AAIB’s 15-page preliminary report, released shortly after midnight on July 12, 2025, revealed that the crash was triggered by a dual-engine failure caused by the movement of both engine fuel control switches from the “RUN” to “CUTOFF” position shortly after takeoff. This action, which occurred within one second of each other, starved the engines of fuel, causing them to lose thrust almost immediately. The report notes that the aircraft reached its maximum recorded airspeed just before the switches were moved, and the engines’ N1 and N2 parameters began to decrease as fuel flow ceased.
The fuel control switches, located in the flight deck, are designed to regulate the supply of fuel to the engines. Moving them to the “CUTOFF” position stops fuel flow, shutting down the engines in seconds, as confirmed by John Cox, a former airline pilot and CEO of Safety Operating Systems. Cox emphasized that such an action would cause an immediate loss of thrust, leaving the pilots with little time to react, especially at low altitude. The report also indicates that, approximately 10 seconds after the fuel was cut off, the switches were moved back to the “RUN” position, suggesting an attempt by the pilots to restore engine function. However, the Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) system, designed to initiate an automatic relight, failed to restore thrust in time to prevent the crash.
Cockpit Confusion: The Final Conversation
One of the most striking revelations from the AAIB report is the cockpit voice recording, which captured a brief but telling exchange between the pilots. As the engines began to fail, one pilot—whose identity is not specified in the report—asked the other, “Why did you cut off?” The other pilot responded, “I did not do so,” indicating confusion and a lack of clarity about who or what caused the switches to move. This exchange, described as a moment of “pilot confusion,” has become a focal point of the investigation, raising questions about whether the switch movement was intentional, accidental, or the result of a technical malfunction.
The report does not conclusively determine why the switches were moved, nor does it attribute blame to either pilot. However, the conversation suggests that at least one pilot was unaware of the action, and the other denied responsibility. This has led to speculation about human error, procedural lapses, or even the possibility of sabotage, though no evidence of the latter has been confirmed. The Pilots’ Association of India has expressed concern that the investigation appears to presume pilot fault, calling for greater transparency and a more comprehensive analysis of potential technical or systemic issues.
Investigation Focus and Expert Insights
The investigation, led by the AAIB with support from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Boeing, GE Aerospace, and authorities from the UK, Portugal, and Canada, has so far ruled out mechanical failure or design flaws in the Boeing 787 or its GEnx-1B engines. No airworthiness directives have been issued for the aircraft or engines, indicating that the focus remains on pilot actions and cockpit dynamics. The report also dismissed the possibility of a bird strike or other external factors, such as bird activity, that could have simultaneously incapacitated both engines.
Experts have noted that the Boeing 787 is designed to handle takeoff on a single engine, and pilots are trained to manage such scenarios. However, the simultaneous shutdown of both engines at low altitude left the crew with insufficient time and altitude to restart the engines or execute a controlled landing. The deployment of the ram air turbine (RAT), a backup power system, was observed in CCTV footage and confirmed by the Wall Street Journal, indicating a loss of primary engine power.
Some experts, cited by Bloomberg, have suggested that the possibility of premeditated action should not be dismissed, though more cockpit audio and contextual data are needed to draw conclusions. The absence of reported defects in the fuel switches, which were replaced by 2023 and inspected for proper locking mechanisms, further complicates the investigation.
Next Steps in the Investigation
The AAIB, in collaboration with international partners, continues to analyze forensic data, pilot actions, and potential design vulnerabilities in the fuel control switch interface. The investigation will also explore human factors, such as crew coordination and training, to determine whether procedural lapses contributed to the tragedy. Boeing has pledged to support the investigation, deferring to the AAIB for further details.
As the probe progresses, the release of additional cockpit audio and flight data may provide clarity on the pilots’ final moments and the precise cause of the fuel cutoff. For now, the preliminary report underscores the complexity of the incident, with no single explanation fully accounting for the sequence of events that led to the loss of Air India Flight 171.
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Last Updated on Saturday, July 12, 2025 2:27 pm by Mahitha Ventrapati
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