Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau of India released preliminary report for flight AI171 which crashed near Ahmedabad Airport.
On June 12, 2025, Air India Flight AI171, a Boeing 787‑8 (VT‑ANB), crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad bound for London Gatwick.
The accident tragically killed 241 of the 242 onboard, plus 19 on the ground, making it one of India’s deadliest aviation disasters
Preliminary report reveals:
At approximately 08:08:42 UTC, just after reaching a peak speed of 180 knots Indicated Air Speed, both engine fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF, within one second of each other.
The immediate result was dual-engine shutdown: both engines lost thrust, and the ram air turbine (RAT) deployed, indicating an emergency power state.
Crew recordings captured a pilot asking, “why did you cut off?”, to which the other replied he had not, suggesting unintended or unclear control actions.
Any movement of these switches in flight would be intentional—physically lifting and sliding them—not something that could occur inadvertently.
The aircraft started to lose altitude before crossing the airport perimeter wall. The CCTV footage obtained from the airport showed Ram Air Turbine (RAT) getting deployed
during the initial climb immediately after lift-off.
Pilots attempted to restore the switches to RUN within 10–14 seconds, and there were fleeting signs of engine relight—but it was too late to prevent loss of altitude and the ensuing crash.
At about 08:09:05 UTC, one of the pilots transmitted “MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY”.
