New Delhi: In a tragic case that has shaken the aviation sector, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has released its preliminary findings into the crash of Air India flight AI171 that occurred on June 12, minutes after takeoff from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The disaster claimed over 275 lives, including passengers, crew, and individuals on the ground.
The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, carrying 242 people including 12 crew members, crashed into a hostel building inside the BJ Medical College campus just 0.9 nautical miles from the runway. The aircraft exploded on impact due to its heavy fuel load. Only one passenger miraculously survived the catastrophe, which now ranks among India’s worst aviation disasters.
According to the AAIB’s initial report, the crash occurred within seconds of takeoff due to a rare and deadly sequence of engine failures. Both of the aircraft’s fuel cutoff switches—critical controls that feed fuel to the engines—were found to have been manually or automatically switched from ‘RUN’ to ‘CUTOFF’ just one second apart, abruptly shutting down both engines during the climb.
Shockingly, data from the cockpit voice recorder captured a moment of confusion between the pilots. One pilot asked, “Why did you cut off?” and the other responded, “I didn’t,” implying neither was aware of the switches being turned off or claiming responsibility for doing so. This mysterious transition is now the focal point of a deeper investigation into whether it was caused by human error, a technical malfunction, or a deeper systems fault.
At the time of the incident, First Officer Clive Kunder, with approximately 1,100 flight hours, was at the controls, while Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a highly experienced Line Training Captain with over 8,200 hours of flight time, was acting as monitoring pilot.
After the engines cut off, both pilots attempted to recover control by switching the fuel controls back to ‘RUN’. According to flight data from the Enhanced Airborne Flight Recorder (EAFR), this action triggered the aircraft’s FADEC (Full Authority Digital Engine Control) system, which automatically tried to restart the engines. While one engine showed a brief partial response, the aircraft continued to lose altitude rapidly and was airborne for only about 30 seconds before the crash.
The AAIB confirmed that the aircraft reached a maximum airspeed of 180 knots before its descent began. A distress call—”Mayday, Mayday, Mayday”—was transmitted at 1:39 pm, barely a minute after takeoff. However, no response followed as the plane vanished from radar, leading Air Traffic Control to activate emergency services.
Preliminary tests ruled out several other common causes of such accidents. Fuel samples taken from airport bowsers and refueling tanks were found to be clean and uncontaminated. There was no evidence of bird strike, poor weather, or hazardous cargo. The aircraft was also confirmed to be within proper weight and balance limits. Both pilots were certified, medically fit, and rested before the flight.
Experts now believe that the root of the incident may lie in either an accidental activation of the fuel switches or a software glitch within the cockpit interface. Notably, an earlier advisory by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had warned of potential design vulnerabilities in the fuel control system of certain Boeing 787 models, but Air India reportedly did not perform the optional safety inspections recommended at that time.
Though the AAIB has not made any formal recommendations yet for Boeing 787-8 operators, it is expected that the final report—anticipated later this year—will address critical design, procedural, or regulatory shortcomings that may have led to this unprecedented failure.
