Air India crash preliminary report brings little comfort for victims' families

RNZ News

13-07-2025

By ABC South Asia bureau chief
Meghna Bali
and
Bhat Burhan
in Ahmedabad, India
An investigation team inspects the wreckage of Air India flight 171 a day after it crashed in a residential area near the airport, in Ahmedabad on 13 June, 2025. Investigators recovered a black box recorder from the crash site.
Photo:
AFP/ Sam Panthaky
An investigation team inspects the wreckage of Air India flight 171 a day after it crashed in a residential area near the airport, in Ahmedabad on 13 June, 2025.
One month after
Air India Flight 171 crashed
into a hostel at Ahmedabad's BJ Medical College, killing 260 people, including children and entire families, key questions remain unanswered.
The disaster left behind scorched buildings and devastated lives.
A month on from the fatal Air India Flight 171 crash in Ahmedabad, the site of the collision remains blackened.
Photo:
ABC News: Bhat Burhan
On Saturday, India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau released its
preliminary report
, confirming that both fuel control switches were moved to "cut off" just seconds after take-off, shutting down the engines and causing the Boeing 787 to lose thrust.
But the report does not explain how or why the switches were moved, offering little clarity or comfort to the families left behind.
In a narrow alley in Ahmedabad, 32-year-old Ravi Thakor sits on a wooden cot inside his modest home, scrolling through old videos of his daughter playing.
Today would have been her second birthday.
Ravi Thakor, left, says he learned about the nature of the fatal crash that killed his daughter and mother via social media.
Photo:
ABC News: Bhat Burhan
Instead of celebrating, Thakor is mourning his daughter Aadhya and his mother Sarla Ben, who were both killed when the plane crashed into the BJ Medical College hostel mess where she worked.
"I learnt from social media that both engines shut down and there was something wrong with the fuel," he told the ABC.
The preliminary report said both fuel switches were cut off just seconds after take-off, then switched back on, but the engines never recovered enough power before the plane slammed into the ground.
Ravi Thakor's father, Prahlad Thakor, who lost his wife and granddaughter.
Photo:
ABC News: Bhat Burhan
Cockpit audio captured one pilot asking the other why the fuel had been cut off, and the other replying that he hadn't done it.
Thakor said the findings were confusing and only deepened his questions.
"There will be many like us who are not that educated and don't understand what has been written [in the report]," he said.
"This was an international flight with many experts involved with it. Still no-one picked up on such a huge mistake. The final report must explain it. They have a responsibility - so many lives were lost."
Framed photographs in the Thakor home, in tribute to Aadhya and Sarla Ben Thakor, who were killed in the crash.
Photo:
ABC News: Bhat Burhan
Thakor said the trauma of that night still haunted him.
"A whole iron cupboard melted in the area my mum used to cook in. Imagine what would happen to a person," he said.
"We have seen the charred bodies with our eyes. We have felt it. I can still smell the stench; it's in my nose. How would it have been for them?"
Not far from Thakor's home, another family is grappling with the same grief.
BS Saiyad lost his brother Inayat, as well as Inayat's wife, son and daughter, in the crash. He, too, has read the preliminary findings, and finds them contradictory.
BS Saiyad, who lost his brother, sister-in-law, nephew and niece in the crash, says he also found the preliminary report confusing.
Photo:
ABC News: Bhat Burhan
"It seems like the pilot is being blamed. But the way the report is set out, it also looks like the pilot is innocent," Saiyad said.
"If this investigation is to be done transparently, there can't be any prejudice."
Aviation experts say the design of the fuel cut-off switches makes an accidental error unlikely.
B S Saiyad is calling for complete transparency in a final report into the crash, to determine exactly what caused the fatal incident.
Photo:
ABC News: Bhat Burhan
Guard brackets prevent the switches from being knocked or moved into the off position by mistake, and a stop-lock mechanism requires pilots to lift the switch before changing its position.
The report outlined the sequence of events: the fuel switches moved to cut-off almost simultaneously, power was lost, the switches were reset, but by then the aircraft was too low to recover.
As for a possible mechanical fault, the AAIB says there is no evidence at this stage to recommend changes for Boeing or GE, the engine manufacturer.
The 56-year-old commanding pilot, Sumeet Sabharwal, and his 32-year-old co-pilot, Clive Kunder, had a combined 9000 hours of flight time on the 787. Both were rested and breath-tested before take-off.
Air India says it's cooperating fully with the investigation.
The Indian civil aviation minister has urged the public to be patient.
"Let's not jump to any conclusions at this stage," Ram Mohan Naidu said.
"Let us wait for the final report."
As investigators continue analysing flight data, wreckage, post-mortem reports and witness statements, the final report could take months.
For families like the Thakors and the Saiyads, however, the preliminary findings offer little solace.
"If this report means that future lives can be saved it's a good thing. But it's not going to make a difference to us," Saiyad said.
"Sometimes I dream about calling Inayat and stopping him from leaving."
On what should have been a day of celebration, Thakor spent his daughter's second birthday looking at her photos and videos, still asking why she had to die.
"We thought this year we'd take her to the temple … let her grandparents bless her," he said quietly.
"But now, she's gone."
- ABC