No issues with AI-171 aircraft or engine; probe far from over: Air India CEO
In an internal note accessed by Mint, CEO Campbell Wilson highlighted that AAIB's report had not found any issues with the engines or the Boeing 787 aircraft.
'The Preliminary Report found no mechanical or maintenance issues with the aircraft or engines, and that all mandatory maintenance tasks had been completed. There was no issue with the quality of fuel and no abnormality with the take-off roll,' Wilson said in the note.
He added that the pilots had cleared their mandatory pre-flight breathalyser test and the report contained no observations pertaining to their medical status.
Wilson also said every Boeing 787 aircraft operating in Air India's fleet was checked within days of the 12 June crash and found fit for service. 'We continue to perform all necessary checks, as we will any new ones that authorities may suggest,' Wilson said in the internal note to Air India employees.
On 13 June, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered Air India to carry out additional maintenance actions on its fleet of Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft equipped with Genx engines with immediate effect.
The civil aviation regulator also ordered Air India to conduct a one-time check of various aircraft systems before the departure of any flight from India from the midnight of 15June.
Wilson highlighted that AAIB's preliminary report provided both greater clarity and opened additional questions.
'The release of the Preliminary Report marked the point at which we, along with the world, began receiving additional details about what took place,' Air India's CEO said, asking employees to refrain from speculation until the final report is out.
AAIB released itspreliminary report exactly a month after the AI-171 Boeing Dreamliner aircraft crashed in Ahmedabad on 12 June, killing 260 people, including all but one of the 242 on board. In the report, AAIB highlighted that both engines were shut mid-air within seconds after take off.
The aircraft started to lose altitude before crossing the airport's perimeter wall.
'The aircraft achieved the maximum recorded airspeed of 180 Knots and immediately thereafter, the Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of 01 second,' read the preliminary report.
CCTV footage from the airport showed the aircraft's ram air turbine, typically used only in an emergency, getting deployed during the climb immediately after lift-off.
'In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so,' AAIB said in its report, adding that the pilots tried to restart the engines.
'The Engine 1 fuel cutoff switch transitioned from CUTOFF to RUN at about 08:08:52 UTC. Engine 1's core deceleration stopped, reversed and started to progress to recovery,' said AAIB. 'Engine 2 was able to relight but could not arrest core speed deceleration and re-introduced fuel repeatedly to increase core speed acceleration and recovery.'
AAIB found out that the throttle control module in the aircraft was replaced in 2019 and 2023. 'However, the reason for the replacement was not linked to the fuel control switch. There has been no defect reported pertaining to the fuel control switch since 2023 on VT-ANB,' it said in its preliminary report.VT-ANB refers to the crashed aircraft's registration.
Fuel samples taken from the bowsers and tanks used to refuel the aircraft were tested at DGCA's laboratory and found satisfactory. All applicable airworthiness directives and alert service bulletins were complied with as well. The aircraft's left engine was installed on 1 May 2025 and the right engine on 26 March 2025.
'At this stage of investigation, there are no recommended actions to B787-8 and/or GE GEnx-1B engine operators and manufacturers,' AAIB said in its preliminary report.
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