Both switches feeding fuel to the two engines of Air India flight 171 were cut off followed by pilot confusion before the plane crashed in Ahmedabad, seconds after taking off, the first investigation report into the crash has revealed.
It said that one pilot asked why he had shut off the fuel, and the other responded he didn’t do it.
The crash on June 12 was the first fatal disaster involving a Boeing 787, killing a total of 260 people — all but one of the 242 people on board the aircraft died — when the plane ploughed into a medical college hostel.
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The preliminary report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, released on Saturday, recommended no action for now for the operators of Boeing 787-8 planes.
At the time the aircraft took off, the co-pilot was flying the plane, while the captain was monitoring.
“The aircraft achieved the maximum recorded airspeed of 180 Knots IAS at about 08:08:42 UTC and immediately thereafter, the Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of 01 sec,” the report said.
As per the report, the engine N1 and N2 began to decrease from their take-off values as the fuel supply to the engines was cut off.
“In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so,” it said.
The aircraft took off at 08:08:39 UTC (13:38:39 IST) and at about 08:09:05 UTC (13:39:05 IST) one of the pilots transmitted ‘MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY’.
Working closely with stakeholders: Air India after AAIB releases initial report
Air India on Saturday said it is working closely with regulators and other stakeholders, and will continue to cooperate with the authorities in the ongoing probe into the Ahmedabad plane crash after AAIB released its preliminary report.
On June 12, the airline’s Boeing 787-8 plane operating flight AI 171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick crashed soon after take off and 260 people died in the accident.
“We acknowledge receipt of the preliminary report released by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) today, 12 July 2025.,” the airline said in a post on X.
Further, the airline said it is working closely with stakeholders, including regulators.
“We continue to fully cooperate with the AAIB and other authorities as their investigation progresses”.
