Air India breaks silence after report suggests pilots may have made fatal error
Air India officials have spoken out after crash investigators suggested pilot error could be behind last month's Air India crash
The aircraft, which had only just set off for Gatwick, suddenly crashed into a medical college after taking off from the city of Ahmedabad on June 12. British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh miraculously made it out alive, while 241 people onboard and 29 people on the ground were declared dead.
Now, analysis of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner's Black Box indicates a "possibility" that the pilots could have made a mistake while operating the jet. The early assessments indicate no apparent fault with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which went down shortly after take off. A preliminary report into the disaster points to switches to the engines' fuel supplies being turned off seconds after it left the runway.
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal was the lead pilot on the journey, with Clive Kunder acting as his co-pilot. The findings of the probe, which is run by the the US National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing and GE Aerospace, are starting to be made public.
Indian investigators recovered the black boxes from the wreckage site a couple of days after the crash. These boxes - which are typically orange, not black - are considered the most important pieces of forensic evidence following a plane crash. There are typically two sturdy devices, the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder.
The black boxes were flown from Ahmedabad to the national capital, New Delhi, in an Indian Air Force aircraft amid tight security early this week. The investigation could take weeks or months.
A committee is expected to file an official preliminary report within three months. Following the crash, Indian authorities ordered deeper checks of Air India's entire fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliner to prevent future incidents.
An Air India spokesperson has broken their silence since news of the report was made public, they said: "Air India stands in solidarity with the families and those affected by the AI171 accident. We continue to mourn the loss and are fully committed to providing support during this difficult time.
"We acknowledge receipt of the preliminary report released by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) today, 12 July 2025. Air India is working closely with stakeholders, including regulators. We continue to fully co-operate with the AAIB and other authorities as their investigation progresses.
"Given the active nature of the investigation, we are unable to comment on specific details and refer all such enquiries to the AAIB."
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Scottish Sun
19 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
I was MI6 spy inside Al Qaeda – I'm haunted by 9/11 tip that came too late… but I saved thousands from another attack
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) WHILE thousands have suffered from Al Qaeda's brutality, few understand its inner workings as well as Aimen Dean, a former operative turned British spy. From 9/11 to London's 7/7 attacks, the terrorist group is linked with some of the most vicious atrocities of the 21st century. 10 Aimen Dean was MI6's top spy inside Al Qaeda Credit: BBC 10 Hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the south tower of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 Credit: Getty 10 Al Qaeda were linked to the 7/7 attack on London Credit: PA:Press Association 10 Aimen with older brother at their home in Saudi Arabia Credit: Supplied / Aimen Dean The dad-of-one was 17 when he met Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, which killed almost 3,000 civilians. He had just emerged from a year battling the Serbs in the Bosnian war, where he was exposed to "charred remains, mutilated bodies, and mass graves". Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Aimen revealed he was lured in by the promise of fighting a 'villainous' America who he blamed for the lengthy war. But he turned on them when he saw the true face of the terror group - appalled by how they would indiscriminately slaughter civilians. Aimen was speaking to us as this week Britain marked 20 years since 7/7 - where 52 people were killed and 784 as bombs went off across the London Underground and on a bus. 'He was so convincing, he was so eloquent that I believed what I now know were delusions," he said. 'Kill or be killed' Aged 18, Aimen travelled to a secluded mountainous spot in Afghanistan where he would spend the next 11 months learning how to build bombs. As a self-confessed bookworm and "nerd", the intellectual rigour and mathematical precision required for bomb making proved an exciting - albeit risky - endeavour for the teenager. 'I remember thinking this is so much fun, why didn't they teach chemistry like this at school?' he said. Joined by three other men - including Moez Fezzani, now an ISIS leader in Libya - he spent his days mixing highly toxic chemicals under the watchful leadership of vengeful chemist and terror mastermind Abu Khabab. Inside 7/7 The story behind Britain's worst ever terror attack Khabab was in charge of developing Al Qaeda's mass-casualty weapons and was linked to a series of terror plots before being killed in a CIA drone strike in 2008. Outside of building bombs, the group spent their time debating and listening to the radio. "We would just sit down and discuss everything endlessly. We would talk about what is wrong with the world. "We would reinforce each other's negative views and talk about the need for change and how this could only come if we tear the system down," Aimen recalled. With just a mattress on the floor to sleep on and little else but books to keep him occupied, the bunker was basic at best. I remember thinking this is so much fun, why didn't they teach chemistry like this at school? Aimen Dean Bombs and extremely toxic chemicals were stored in wooden shelves, which Aimen joked would have given any British health and safety inspector a heart attack. He said: 'We were dealing with chemicals all the time so they gave us lots of fruit to build up our resilience.' 'Khabab told us that your first mistake is your last mistake. He had two missing fingers to which I said, well you are testament of living to make another mistake. 'He said: 'it's idiots who came before you who did this. They are no longer here anymore - I was just collateral damage'". Your first mistake is your last mistake Terror leader, Abu Khabab But just under a year after Aimen joined the terror group, his life took a drastic turn when news of a suicide bomb attack in East Africa upended his views and beliefs. The devastating assault on U.S embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Tanzania resulted in 200 deaths and an estimated 4,000 wounded. According to Aimen, some 150 civilians were also blinded because the vans were 'loaded with shrapnel' to maximise death and destruction. 10 Aimen Dean was 17 when he met Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, pictured, the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks Credit: AP 10 Firemen walk amid the smouldering rubble of the World Trade Center following 9/11 Credit: AFP New beginnings 'This is when I started to have doubts and I realised things were going in the wrong direction. "I realised it was about making gas canisters full of hydrogen cyanide to attack nightclubs and cinemas,' he said. 'My good moral compass and critical thinking kicked in. "I thought, what if I build something for someone that is then used on civilians? I disagreed completely with this," he added. When he raised his concerns with Khaleb, the terror leader replied: 'The world is not the Disney movies that you watch. "This is a jungle. Kill or be killed. The world only respects one language: terror.' Feigning sickness, Aimen was sent to Qatar where he renounced his oath to the terror group and decided he would never go back. I started to have doubts and I realised things were going in the wrong direction Aimen Dean Arriving in the country, he was questioned by security services as a suspected Al-Qaeda member. He cooperated by giving them a number he had memorised for an Al-Qaeda bank account. Delighted at having landed on an treasure trove of intelligence, the Qataris offered him the choice of being handed over to America, France or Britain. 'I felt little cultural affinity with the French and didn't speak the language. And I didn't trust the Americans either," said Aimen. Within nine days he had 'landed in the lap' of MI5, who he said enthusiastically whisked him back to the UK after quickly recognising his impressive knack for map reading and photographic memory. Arriving in the UK, he was offered a Coca-Cola which he tried for the first time (now, his favourite drink) and a Harry Potter book. The next six months were filled with long training days and getting to grips with English before being sent to live in a flat with an Al Qaeda operative in London. 10 Osama bin-Laden addresses a news conference in Afghanistan on May 26, 1998 Credit: Reuters 10 Aimen worked for the MI5 and MI6 for eight years, becoming one of the secret service's most audacious spies Credit: Supplied / Aimen Dean On becoming an informant for the British Secret Intelligence Service he said the best piece of advice he received was to just 'go and have fun'. During this time, Aimen hopped between homes and became close with his roommates by leaning on his superior intellect and offering them religious guidance. He said: 'I am generally theologically better trained than the average Al Qaeda person so I ended up being kind of like a spiritual coach. "It's a bit brutal but it means they will open their hearts and minds to me, which made my espionage much easier.' It wasn't long before Aimen was asked if we would go back to Afghanistan and acquire intelligence for the MI6. This is a jungle - kill or be killed. The world only respects one language: terror Abu Khabab After rigorous training, he returned to the Middle East pretending his return was so he could get back in touch with his spirituality. He spent the next eight years spying for MI5 and MI6, becoming one of the secret service's most audacious spies. 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When asked about any close calls, he recalled the time he was cooking at the military camp and suddenly felt the cold end of a pistol against his lower spine. "Someone said, that's it confess, we know who you are. We know who you are working with," he said. His thorough training had taught him how to detect a bluff, so he held his nerve. It later transpired the incident was a routine test. Did he ever feel scared? Nervous, yes, he said. But the trick is to always "forget you're spying". 10 Aimen has a brilliant photographic memory which he owes to hours spent reading growing up Credit: Supplied / Aimen Dean
New Statesman
2 hours ago
- New Statesman
The mutation of jihad
Photo by Wakil Kohsar/AFP We fear the wrong terror. This week marked the 20th anniversary of the 7/7 bombings. But the spectacular terror of international jihad has significantly abated. In 2022, the UK downgraded its terrorism threat level from 'severe' to 'substantial', and MI5 director Ken McCallum observed in 2024 that terrorist threats had diminished during his time at the service. Attacks claimed by Islamic State group (IS) have fallen from almost 4,000 in 2018 to around 600 so far this year. And they are less likely to be of immediate concern to Western countries. Almost 90% of the group's violence now takes place in remote parts of Africa. A report published this week highlighted a newer danger: hostile governments are equipping themselves to execute professional attacks on British soil. The study by Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee, which Keir Starmer saw before publication, investigated Iran. It counted at least 15 attempted murders or abductions of British nationals or UK-based citizens since 2022, and designated the Iran one of the biggest threats to the UK, next to Russia and China. But it should not be news that the threat of state-sponsored, professional killings has been increasing in recent years should not be news. In 2024, MI5 admitted a 48 per cent rise in state-instigated assassination attempts on UK soil. But the only such incident to gain real cut-through was the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in 2018. Jihad is changing its face. In recent years, jihadist and Islamist groups that have embraced more pragmatic, local agendas have tended to flourish. Meanwhile, supporters of more extreme jihadist ideologies – groups like IS and al-Qaeda which once posed significant threats to the West – are foundering. In 2001, al-Qaeda executed the grandest and most famous assault the West had ever seen on its own land. The 2017 attacks on Westminster Bridge and London Bridge represented a transition to less complicated methods, such as stabbings and driving vans into crowds. IS was encouraging followers to use whatever equipment they can get their hands on. Now, commenters on GeoNews, the main al-Qaeda chat room, are wont to take a despairing tone; in late April this year, one commenter reflected 'Jihadism goes nowhere, it didn't achieve anything… it's like digging in water… The best that can happen is like [what happened in] Syria'. Since the December 2024 overthrow of the al-Assad government, Syria has been ruled by Ahmed al-Sharaa, better known by his military name Abu Mohammed al-Jolani. Al-Sharaa's regime has dismayed Islamist hardliners by distancing itself from typical jihadist and Islamist demands, such as rigorous application of Sharia law. Instead it has loudly touted its respect for religious minorities, with a programme more reminiscent of the Ottoman Empire's 'millet' ('personal law') decentralisations, which gave religious communities a degree of local autonomy. Al-Sharaa has even shaken the investment tin to the US and other Western powers. And, perhaps most controversially, his government is signalling openness to normalising ties with Israel, its arch-foe. Unburdened of US sanctions, Syria's economy is expected to begin the slow path to recovery. Al-Sharaa has generally prioritised winning international credibility as a competent and pragmatic leader over governing by strict Islamic principles. He has proposed plans to privatise state-controlled infrastructure and made overtures to foreign investors. Government officials have stated intentions to model Syria's future on service-based economies like Singapore. It is a surprising posture. Historian Djene Rhys Bajalan has coined the term 'Salafi Neoliberalism' to describe the strange new synthesis of 'malls and mosques'. Other media outlets have described it as 'Islamist technocracy', pointing to the equal centrality of technocratic institutions and conservative social mores. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Before Syria, there was Afghanistan. Despite being spurned by the international community for its deeply regressive social policies, hardcore jihadists had condemned the Taliban's rule in Afghanistan after its 2021 takeover as too lax. IS's local wing and its affiliated media regularly scorn the Taliban, holding that the group has abandoned jihad, failed to implement Sharia and allied itself with enemy foreign powers. Accepting national borders and engaging in diplomacy is considered anathema to IS's vision of global jihad. Taken as evidence of ideological compromise was the Taliban's removal from Russia's list of terrorist organisations. And this week, on 9 July, Afghanistan posted an extraordinary tourism advert online, which opens with a shot of five turbaned men behind three kneeling hostages. The leader says 'we have one message for America', then pulls off the hood of the central hostage, revealing a beaming Westerner who shouts, 'Welcome to Afghanistan!' Of course, all sorts of propaganda will be used in service of attracting tourism; but this is nonetheless a sea change from the autarkic Taliban regime of the 1990s. Affiliates of al-Qaeda now appear poised to make a definitive break with the transnational jihadist model most infamously espoused by Islamic State (IS). Al-Qaeda affiliates in Yemen (AQAP) and Somalia (Al-Shabaab) have showed signs of being willing to collaborate with the Iran-backed Houthis, traditionally an ideological foe. In Yemen in April, a former al-Qaeda member rebranded innocuously as the Movement for Change and Liberation, a new, locally focused party. The affiliate in West Africa's Sahel region, JNIM, is perhaps the most likely to split from al-Qaeda's central structure next: media branding changes, such as the removal of JNIM's logo, suggest a split from the wider North African branch, AQIM. In February, one al-Qaeda supporter wondered in the GeoNews chatroom why 'JNIM want to separate from [al-Qaeda]?… It's sad'. JNIM's drift away from al-Qaeda may allow it to more openly collaborate with other non-jihadist militant groups such as Tuareg separatists. JNIM has also reportedly signalled willingness to combine forces with non-jihadist armed groups in the Sahel, such as the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), against common enemies in the region (predominantly the governments of Mali and Burkina Faso). Burkina Faso's military junta plainly considers the Taliban and JNIM entirely separate entities, meeting with the former in May while engaged in a bloody war with the latter. What is left of IS itself has blamed the West for the move away from jihadism and toward more palatable alternatives in order to undermine them and lure Muslims from the 'true' path. One high-profile IS supporter posted on Facebook, '[the US] gave Afghanistan to Taliban… and Syria to [al-Sharaa's] HTS which converted to secularism'. Devoted IS supporters see more pragmatic Islamist movements like HTS as enforcers of the West's war on terrorism who are beholden to Western interests, rather than being committed to applying Shariah by the letter. Al-Naba, IS's weekly newspaper, has recently struck a downbeat tone. An early July editorial worried about low morale and a wavering commitment to global jihad. Several other recent editorials have all but admitted that the group is on the backfoot, especially in its Middle Eastern heartlands, where its attacks have dropped significantly in recent years. Transnational jihadism – an ideology that has demonstrated remarkable tenacity throughout the first quarter of the 21st century – may be about to turn a corner. As US power retreats, those who might have been attracted to confronting American imperialism are concerned by other questions. International terrorist imperatives are being subordinated to domestic, material issues. At least for now, the success of the local appears to be global jihadism's loss. [See also: Netanyahu bends the knee for Trump] Related
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Reuters
Boeing settles with Canadian man whose family died in 737 MAX crash
July 11 (Reuters) - Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab reached a settlement with a Canadian man whose family died in the March 2019 crash of an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX, the man's lawyer said on Friday. The terms of the settlement with Paul Njoroge of Toronto were not released. The 41-year-old man's wife Carolyne and three young children - Ryan, 6, Kellie, 4, and nine-month-old Rubi - died in the crash. His mother-in-law was traveling with them and also died in the crash. The trial was scheduled to start on Monday in U.S. District Court in Chicago and would have been the first against the U.S. planemaker stemming from two fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that together killed 346 people. Boeing also averted a trial in April, when it settled with the families of two other victims in the Ethiopian Airlines crash. The planemaker declined to comment on the latest settlement. The two accidents led to a 20-month grounding of the company's best-selling jet and cost Boeing more than $20 billion. In another trial that is scheduled to begin on November 3, Njoroge's attorney Robert Clifford will be representing the families of six more victims. Boeing has settled more than 90% of the civil lawsuits related to the two accidents, paying out billions of dollars in compensation through lawsuits, a deferred prosecution agreement and other payments, according to the company. Boeing and the U.S. Justice Department asked a judge earlier this month to approve an agreement that allows the company to avoid prosecution, over objections from relatives of some of the victims of the two crashes. The agreement would enable Boeing to avoid being branded a convicted felon and to escape oversight from an independent monitor for three years. It was part of a plea deal struck in 2024 to a criminal fraud charge that it misled U.S. regulators about a crucial flight 737 MAX control system which contributed to the crashes.
