India Releases Preliminary Report on Air India Crash in Ahmedabad

11/07/2025

NEW DELHI, July 11: India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has released its preliminary report on the Air India plane crash that occurred in Ahmedabad on June 12. The release follows a Reuters report citing three anonymous sources who indicated the findings would be made public on Friday.

Key Findings:

As the aircraft reached a speed of 180 knots indicated airspeed (IAS), both Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches unexpectedly moved from the "run" to the "cutoff" position.
Cockpit voice recordings captured one pilot asking the other why the engines were cut off. The second pilot responded that he had not done so, suggesting the action was unintentional or caused by a malfunction.
Engine 1 experienced an unusual pattern: its core deceleration stopped, reversed, and began to recover. Meanwhile, Engine 2 managed to relight but could not stabilize, with repeated fuel reintroductions failing to arrest the deceleration.
The aircraft’s Aft Extended Area Flight Recorder (EAFR) was damaged and could not be accessed using standard methods. The AFT EAFR, a critical crash-survivable data recording system, houses flight data, cockpit audio, and communication logs. It is built to withstand extreme crash conditions and provides crucial information about the final moments of a flight.
At this stage, the AAIB has not issued any safety recommendations to Boeing 787-8 aircraft operators or the manufacturers of GE GENX-1B engines.
Investigators are currently analyzing post-mortem reports of the crew and passengers to align aeromedical findings with technical assessments.

The investigation remains ongoing, with a full and final report expected at a later date.