New Delhi, July 9 - On June 12, 2025, Air India Flight AI171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner bound for London’s Gatwick Airport, crashed moments after takeoff from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, claiming the lives of 241 of the 242 passengers and crew aboard, as well as 19 people on the ground. The tragedy, marking the first fatal accident involving Boeing’s advanced widebody jet, has drawn intense scrutiny from investigators seeking to uncover the cause of the catastrophic failure that occurred just 32 seconds after the aircraft left the runway. According to sources familiar with the ongoing investigation, the focus has narrowed to the movement of the engine fuel control switches, a critical finding derived from the analysis of the aircraft’s flight and voice data recorders, commonly referred to as the black box. This development, reported by aviation industry publication The Air Current, suggests that the sequence or nature of the switches’ operation may have contributed to the sudden loss of thrust that led to the crash.
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The Boeing 787, equipped with two GE Aerospace GEnx-1B engines, is designed with multiple redundancies to ensure safety, including a sophisticated fly-by-wire system that automatically compensates for asymmetric thrust. In the event of an engine issue, such as a fire, the fuel control switch for the affected engine would illuminate red, providing a clear visual cue to the pilots. However, preliminary data indicate no mechanical failure or design flaw in the engines or the aircraft itself, as no advisories or operational bulletins have been issued to other 787 operators. The absence of such warnings, coupled with the lack of evidence for fuel contamination or improper flap settings, has shifted attention to the actions surrounding the fuel control switches, which are secured to prevent accidental movement. U.S. aviation safety expert John Cox emphasized that these switches, which have only two positions—run and cutoff—cannot be inadvertently toggled, suggesting that any movement would have been deliberate or the result of an extraordinary error.
The investigation, led by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), is preparing to release a preliminary report around July 11, 2025, in compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) requirements. This report is expected to outline the facts known to date without drawing conclusions, as a comprehensive analysis could take months or longer. The black box data, which captures 25 hours of flight and voice information, provides precise details on the switches’ positions, the timing of their movement, and engine performance metrics. Early findings also indicate that the aircraft’s emergency ram air turbine (RAT) was deployed, suggesting a possible loss of primary power or engine function shortly after takeoff. The Wall Street Journal reported that the RAT’s activation points to a potential dual-engine failure, an exceedingly rare occurrence in modern aviation.
Adding complexity to the probe, India initially resisted but later granted observer status to a specialist from the ICAO, following the agency’s rare request to assist. The crash has significant implications for Air India, now under the Tata Group’s ownership since 2022, as it pursues a reputation overhaul and fleet modernization. The tragedy also challenges India’s broader ambition to become a global aviation hub. While investigators continue to piece together the sequence of events, the focus on the fuel control switches raises critical questions about whether human error, procedural lapses, or other factors precipitated the disaster, underscoring the multifaceted nature of air crash investigations.