New Delhi, July 11, 2025 —The preliminary report on the Air India 171 crash has been released by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). The AAIB published a 15-page report detailing the investigation into the fatal crash of the Air India flight in Ahmedabad that claimed 260 lives, both on board and on the ground.
The report revealed that fuel supply to both engines was cut within seconds after takeoff, leading to the catastrophic crash. However, growing scrutiny over misleading media narratives and concerns about potential failures in Boeing aircraft systems have sparked outrage—especially since the report does not present any conclusive evidence of pilot error.
A key point in the investigation centres on the fuel control switches, which were found to have transitioned from "RUN" to "CUTOFF" within one second of each other, just three seconds after takeoff. Yet, cockpit voice recorder (CVR) data reveals that one pilot questioned the other about cutting the fuel, to which the response was a denial—casting doubt on claims that the pilots deliberately shut down the engines.
Despite this, prominent Western media outlets, including the BBC and Reuters published headlines prematurely assigning blame to the pilots. One BBC headline read, “Breaking: Air India crash—pilots cut off fuel to engines, no fault with plane.” The headline was later quietly changed to “Fuel switches cut off before Air India crash, preliminary report says”. Critics have accused outlets like the BBC of deflecting blame from Boeing, which has been under fire for multiple safety failures in recent years.
The FAA advisory on potential fuel switch malfunctions in Boeing 787 Dreamliners was referenced in the report. Yet, the AAIB did not recommend further investigation into Boeing or the fuel control system, a decision that has raised eyebrows in the aviation safety community.
Barkha Dutt, Indian TV journalist and author, said in a post on X that every expert and pilot she has spoken with off-record noted that photos from the crash site showed the fuel switches in the ON position, indicating an attempt to recover engine power, rather than pilot error. As per Boeing’s own emergency procedures, pilots are trained to cycle the fuel switches off and on during dual engine flameouts—a possible explanation for the switch movement. Bharkha Dutt also called out BBC for it's misleading headline saying "Pretty shocking to see this scurrilous headline. In fact the report mentions an FAA advisory on a fuel lock problem in Boeing planes which oddly it does not then advise further investigation on."
Further, some pilots have expressed concern over a scenario where dual engine failure coincides with a total electrical failure—a situation for which Boeing’s training materials reportedly do not provide a clear checklist. The RAT (Ram Air Turbine), a device designed to restore emergency electrical power, may also have failed, hinting at a catastrophic systems failure, not human error.
For many, these airline-level issues pale in comparison to what critics call a coordinated effort to shield Boeing from accountability. As the pilot further remarked, “The stakes for Boeing are too high for anything else to come out. At the time, I argued that the truth had to come out... but now, seeing the leaks in the media, I am far more sceptical that we will ever know the actual facts”
Meanwhile, Indian authorities have confirmed that the aircraft’s black boxes—the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR)—were intact and provided “good data,” despite early media reports suggesting they were damaged. The AAIB shared this update during a closed-door session with lawmakers, stating that the focus of the probe remains on the fuel control switches and engine thrust behaviour.
The preliminary report, released by the AAIB, refrains from apportioning blame, but the international media’s rush to point fingers is highly irresponsible.
Air India’s CEO Campbell Wilson also appeared before the parliamentary committee and briefed lawmakers on post-crash measures. The airline is already facing separate scrutiny from regulators in India and Europe. The EU Aviation Safety Agency has opened a probe into Air India Express for falsifying engine maintenance records, while India’s aviation watchdog has flagged Air India for flying aircraft with overdue safety checks.
The key takeaways of the preliminary report:
The engine fuel control switches were cut off seconds after lift-off.
In cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why he cut off the switches. The other pilot responded that he did not do so.
Engine N1 and N2 values began to decrease from their take-off levels as the fuel supply to the engines was cut off.
The fuel control switches were switched back on later, but the deceleration in one of the engines could not be stopped.
Engine 2 was able to relight, but it could not arrest the core speed deceleration. It repeatedly reintroduced fuel to try to increase core speed acceleration and recovery.
CCTV footage showed the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) deploying during the initial climb, immediately after lift-off.
No significant bird activity was observed in the vicinity of the flight path.
The aircraft began to lose altitude before crossing the airport perimeter wall.
At approximately 08:09:05, one of the pilots transmitted "MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY."
When the Air Traffic Controller (ATCO) inquired about the call sign, there was ло response. The ATCO then observed the aircraft crashing outside the airport boundary and activated the emergency response.
On December 17, 2018, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) regarding the potential disengagement of the fuel control switch locking feature.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) noted that this concern was not considered an unsafe condition warranting an airworthiness directive by the FAA.
[Rh/VP]