The final investigation report into the June 2025 Air India crash that killed 260 people in Ahmedabad is delayed past its one-year deadline, frustrating victims' families who await answers. An interim report is expected as engine analysis continues. The delay prolongs a fierce debate over the cause, pitting a preliminary finding that pilots cut the fuel against theories of a catastrophic electrical failure in the Boeing 787.
Air India Flight 171 crash
- ▪A British national, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, was the only person to survive the crash
- ▪The London-bound plane struck a hostel at Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Medical College near the Ahmedabad airport
- ▪The crash killed a total of 260 people, comprising 241 passengers and crew on board and 19 people on the ground
- ▪Air India Flight 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad, India, on June 12, 2025
Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau
- ▪The cockpit voice recorder captured one pilot asking the other why he had cut the fuel; the second pilot denied doing so
- ▪The AAIB's preliminary report, released in July 2025, stated both fuel control switches moved to "cutoff" three seconds after takeoff
- ▪India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is leading the official investigation into the crash
Pilot suicide theory controversy
- ▪The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has argued that blame is often placed on dead pilots to protect manufacturers from liability
- ▪The preliminary report's findings led to widespread media speculation that the crash was a pilot-suicide incident
- ▪Captain Sumeet Sabharwal's family and the FIP petitioned India's Supreme Court, demanding a judicial investigation
Electrical failure alternative theories
- ▪The specific Boeing 787 aircraft involved had a documented history of technical issues, including an electrical fire in 2022
- ▪The aircraft was reportedly permitted to fly with a known fault in its "core network," which connects its computer systems
- ▪The sole survivor recalled the plane's lights flickering just before it started to fall, suggesting a possible electrical fault
Investigation report deadline delays
- ▪The delay is officially due to an incomplete analysis of the plane's engines being conducted in the United States
- ▪Investigators did not formally interview the sole survivor until March 29, 2026, eight months after the incident
- ▪An interim status report is expected to be released on the anniversary in place of the final report
- ▪The final investigation report missed its one-year deadline of June 12, 2026
Transparency concerns
- ▪A full transcript of the cockpit voice recorder, also known as the black box, has not been released to the public
- ▪Sole survivor Vishwash Kumar Ramesh has publicly demanded "honesty, transparency and answers" from investigators
- ▪Victims' families are awaiting the report's findings to proceed with lawsuits filed in the UK and US against Air India and Boeing
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