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AAIB releases report on Air India crash in Ahmedabad: All you need to know
The aircraft crashed into the hostel premises of BJ Medical College, near the airport boundary, killing 240 of the 241 passengers onboard. Only one passenger survived. The crash also claimed the lives of 19 people on the ground.
According to the AAIB, the aircraft was completely destroyed after it hit multiple buildings and caught fire. 'The Aircraft was destroyed due to impact with the buildings on the ground and subsequent fire. A total of five buildings shown in the figure below were impacted and suffered major structural and fire damages,' the report said.
The report mentions that one of the pilots issued a distress signal moments before impact. 'At about 08:09:05 UTC, one of the pilots transmitted 'MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY'. The ATCO enquired about the call sign. ATCO did not get any response but observed the aircraft crashing outside the airport boundary and activated the emergency response,' the report noted.
Air India crash: Key findings from the preliminary report
-No safety recommendations yet: At this early stage, the AAIB has not made any specific safety recommendations for the Boeing 787-8 aircraft or the GE GEnx-1B engines.
-Engine 1 showed partial recovery: Engine 1 initially failed but then began to recover. Its core speed, which had been decelerating, started to stabilise and move toward recovery.
-Engine 2 failed to stabilise: Engine 2, though it relit, failed to regain stable core speed despite multiple fuel reintroduction efforts.
-Fuel cutoff switches moved mid-flight: At 13:38:42 IST (08:08:42 UTC), when the aircraft reached 180 knots IAS, both engines' fuel cutoff switches were observed to move from 'run' to 'cutoff'.
-Relight attempted immediately: The crew switched the fuel controls for both engines back to 'run' within seconds. Exhaust gas temperatures (EGTs) rose, suggesting the engines were being reignited.
-Cockpit voice recording: The cockpit voice recording revealed possible miscommunication between pilots. One pilot asked, 'Why did you cut off?' The other replied, 'I did not do so".
-Engine speeds dropped below idle: Data from the Engine and Aircraft Flight Recorder (EAFR) showed that the N2 core speeds of both engines fell below the minimum idle level during the incident.
-Rear flight recorder severely damaged: The rear EAFR could not be accessed using regular methods as it was heavily damaged in the crash.
-Further evidence under review: The AAIB has said that more information is being collected from relevant stakeholders and will be assessed during the next phase of the investigation.
-Relight attempts reflected in data: EAFR data confirmed that EGT values increased when the engines were switched back to 'run', indicating combustion during relight attempts.
Progress of the investigation
The AAIB shared the current status of the investigation:
-Wreckage documentation using drones has been completed. The wreckage has been shifted to a secure location near the airport.
-Both engines have been recovered and quarantined for further examination.
-Key aircraft components have been identified for detailed analysis.
-Fuel samples from refuelling sources tested at the DGCA lab were found to be satisfactory.
-A very small quantity of fuel retrieved from parts of the aircraft will undergo testing at a specialised facility.
-Forward EAFR data has been successfully downloaded and is under analysis.
-Statements from eyewitnesses and the sole surviving passenger have been recorded.
-Post-mortem reports of passengers and crew are being studied to match medical findings with technical analysis.
-No recommendations for the aircraft or engine manufacturers have been issued at this point.
-The AAIB is continuing its probe and will examine more records, evidence, and stakeholder inputs in the next stages.
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The preliminary report of the ongoing investigation into the June 12 crash of the London-bound Air India Flight AI171, soon after take-off from Ahmedabad, has raised various worrying questions, most critically around fuel cut-off to the engines of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane and whether this fatal development occurred from a mechanical malfunction or some other cause. INDIA TODAY breaks down the report for answers:Q. What caused both engines of the plane to fail mid-take-off?advertisementA. Three seconds after being airborne, both engine fuel-cut-off switches abruptly moved from 'RUN' to 'CUT-OFF', starving the engines of fuel. Crucially, the pilots denied touching the switches, as per cockpit voice recorder data, and the plane's wreckage showed the switches physically back in 'RUN' some observers, this points strongly to a catastrophic failure of the small latches meant to lock those switches in place—a specific risk flagged in an advisory by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) back in 2018. But to some others, it suggests human error. Q. Why wasn't the risk flagged by the FAA over six years ago fixed on the Air India plane that crashed?A. That critical FAA warning was only an advisory, not a mandatory directive. Air India had the throttle-control module of this plane replaced twice (2019 and 2023), but maintenance logs show that no inspections for the faulty latch mechanism were performed either time. However, the advisory was that in some 737 (not 787) aircraft, it had been found that those switches were installed with faulty locking. The 787 series of aircraft was also mentioned in the FAA advisory because its switches were similar. From images of the wreckage, it would seem that was not the case with Flight AI171. Then again, deeper material analysis is underway to conclude either way.Q. What was so crucial about the FAA advisory?A. To quote a portion of it: 'The Boeing Company (Boeing) received reports from operators of Model 737 airplanes that the fuel-control switches were installed with the locking feature disengaged The fuel control switch has a locking feature to prevent inadvertent operation that could result in unintended switch movement between the fuel supply and fuel cut-off positions. In order to move the switch from one position to the other under the condition where the locking feature is engaged, it is necessary for the pilot to lift the switch up while transitioning the switch the locking feature is disengaged, the switch can be moved between the two positions without lifting the switch during transition, and the switch would be exposed to the potential of inadvertent operation. Inadvertent operation of the switch could result in an unintended consequence, such as an in-flight engine shutdown.'The advisory also says that based on the limited data at that time, it was considered not to turn it into a mandatory check for airline operators. Now, India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked all airlines that have aircraft mentioned in that advisory to carry out an inspection and furnish a report of the findings by July Could the highly experienced pilots have accidentally shut off the fuel supply?A. Both the pilots' credentials and flying experience, as well as common sense strongly suggest otherwise. The two pilots were highly experienced on this specific plane. The cockpit voice recorder data has one of them expressing shock when the plane lost upward thrust and questioning the fuel switch cut-off, while the other denies doing the physical thrust levers were found jammed full forward (take-off position), supporting flight data showing maximum power was commanded until impact. The switches themselves were found in 'RUN' mode after the crash. This combination makes a simple pilot error of bumping the switches incredibly unlikely.Q. Why do modern aircraft, especially the Dreamliner, allow cut off of fuel supply manually when the aircraft is airborne? Isn't there failsafe tech to prevent such a thing?A. Experts cite a variety of reasons. For example, the pilot might need to switch off fuel to one or both engines during landing, based on the dynamic landing environment. The engine does not need full power during taxiing. So, the fuel is cut off then as well. Then there is the scenario of an engine catching fire. In such a case, the pilot might have to cut off fuel supply to that engine to save the aircraft. So the existence of the switches and the behaviour of the aircraft are not in switches are designed in a way that makes the act of turning them a deliberate, 2-3 second job. Moreover, metal guards are installed on either side of the switches to prevent accidental bumping. Some experts have also talked about failure/malfunction of a chip (microprocessor) linked to the GE engine of the Air India plane. But the report does not talk about such a thing.Q. If not a mechanical malfunction or something accidental, what other reason could be attributed to the switches turning off?A. In that case, only one possibility remains—human error. Some global aviation experts seem to be veering towards this theory. Captain Steve Scheibner, a commercial pilot and leading aviation expert with a wide following on YouTube, is of the view that the only way the switches could be off is if someone manually switched them off, and not by accident. He also points out that India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has onboarded, among others, an 'aviation psychologist'—perhaps to assess the mental health and stress levels of the Flight AI171 pilots during switches are designed in a way that it takes three fingers and a bit of force to turn them. Thus, it's being argued that it's unusual for them to change position because of cockpit vibration or turbulence. The aviation community is also often quoting the infamous Germanwings Flight 9525 crash of 2015.Q. What happened in the Germanwings crash? Are there similarities to the Air India tragedy?A. On March 24, 2015, Germanwings Flight 9525, from Barcelona to Dsseldorf, had crashed into the French Alps, killing all 150 people on board. Investigations revealed that co-pilot Andreas Lubitz intentionally caused the the captain left the cockpit, Lubitz locked him out and then deliberately set the autopilot to descend rapidly into the mountains. Despite efforts by the captain to regain entry and calls from air traffic control, Lubitz maintained control and drove the plane into the ground. It was later discovered that Lubitz had a history of severe depression and had concealed his mental health issues from his is no direct similarity of the Germanwings tragedy to the Flight AI171 crash. However, investigators and experts are drawing parallels in terms of exploring all possibilities, including pilot intent or mental state. The Airline Pilots Association of India has rejected insinuations of suicide or human error and termed such theories as biased. Their argument is also that the pilots are being made to take the fall because they are not around to defend themselves. 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