✈️ Air India Flight AI 171 Crash: Tragedy and Investigation Unfold

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✈️ Air India Flight AI 171 Crash: Tragedy and Investigation Unfold



🗓️ What Happened

On June 12, 2025, a brand‑new Boeing 787‑8 Dreamliner, operating as Air India Flight 171 from Ahmedabad to London, crashed mere seconds after takeoff, killing 260 people—241 onboard and 19 on the ground at a medical college hostel in Ahmedabad Reuters+10Wikipedia+10The Times of India+10Business Insider+9Business Today+9Reuters+9. CCTV footage captured the plane lifting off, climbing briefly to about 650 ft, then descending rapidly—landing gear extended and no visible fire prior to fragmentation and an ensuing fireball Reuters.

Only one person survived: British passenger Vishwashkumar Ramesh, who escaped by jumping through the damaged fuselage before the crash New York Post+2ABC News+2The Independent+2.

🔍 Investigation Leads & Timeline

Fuel Switch Anomaly

Sequence of Events

  • Around 13:38:42 IST, after reaching 180 knots, both engines shut down. Calculations show only ~30 seconds passed from takeoff to crash Firstpost.

  • Ram Air Turbine (RAT) deployed immediately—indicating total power loss and confirming engine shutdown PBS+9Business Today+9India Today+9.

  • Engineers restored switches to RUN; Engine 1 showed partial thrust recovery, Engine 2 never regained sufficient power. The plane crashed into BJ Medical College hostel near the runway boundary wall The Independent+9Business Today+9Reuters+9.

  • One pilot transmitted “MAYDAY” calls, but altitude and speed were insufficient to recover Reuters.

🧩 Investigative Focus Areas

Mechanical or Human Error?

Pilot Actions Under Scrutiny

  • According to Reuters, early U.S. assessments point to Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who allegedly commanded the switch shut-off; the first officer reportedly questioned it during footage review India Today+4Reuters+4Business Standard+4.

  • Wall Street Journal reports and insiders suggest that the cockpit voice recording supports the view that the captain handled the switches intentionally, despite claiming otherwise Reuters+2Reuters+2Reuters+2.

🛫 Safety Oversight & Reactions

  • India’s Civil Aviation Minister, Ram Mohan Naidu, reiterated that AAIB is conducting a fully unbiased, rule‑based investigation and that full CVR data is available to authorities PBS+3Business Today+3The Times of India+3.

  • Between Jan–July 2025, Air India was issued nine show-cause notices for safety violations; one case has already seen enforcement actions Reuters+1The Times of India+1.

  • Regulators in India and abroad ordered immediate inspections of fuel-switch locking mechanisms across Boeing 787 and 737 aircraft. No issues have been found so far Business Standard+6Reuters+6Outlook India+6.

🧠 Broader Implications & Controversies

  • Aviation experts warn the crash highlights the critical need for cockpit image recorders (CCTV) to help clarify sequences in emergencies—something airlines have largely resisted Reuters+3The Sun+3Reuters+3.

  • The incident also reopened debate around pilot mental health, with some reports noting the captain’s personal circumstances, although authorities haven’t confirmed psychological factors as causes The Sun.

  • Global aviation safety bodies like IFALPA urge restraint, reminding that preliminary findings are not definitive and the final report (due around mid‑2026) may clarify root causes more precisely

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