By Vineet Dikshit and M S Mahesh

NewsGate Press Network

A Preliminary report released by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on the Air India flight AI171 crash in Ahmedabad on 12th of June 2025 has revealed that fuel cutoff switches were moved from ‘run’ to ‘cutoff’ within a second of each other which led to the tragedy.

Here is that full report as published on the website of the AAIB.

The 15 page report reveals that within 90 seconds of take off, both engines of the aircraft shut down unexpectedly during the initial climb leading to a loss of thrust and rapid descent.

After the switches of both engines flipped, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner immediately shut down mid-air seconds after take-off and began to lose thrust and sink down, the report by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau AIB) said.

“The aircraft achieved the maximum recorded airspeed of 180 Knots IAS at about 08:08:42 UTC and immediately thereafter, Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of 01 sec. The Engine N1 and N2 began to decrease from their take-off values as the fuel supply to the engines was cut off,” the 15-page report said.

The pilots attempted to restart the engines by moving the fuel control switches back to the ‘run’ position. Engine 1 started to recover but Engine 2 was unable to arrest core speed deceleration despite repeated attempts to reintroduce fuel and increase core speed acceleration.

The report also revealed that just seconds before the aircraft lost power and went down near Ahmedabad airport, one pilot asked the other why he had cut off fuel to the engines, the second pilot reportedly denied, saying, “did not do so.”

“In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why he cut off. The other pilot responded that he did not do so,” the report said.

“The EAFR recording stopped at 08:09:11 UTC At about 08:09:05 UTC, one of the pilots transmitted “Mayday Mayday Mayday ”. The Air Traffic Controller (ATC) enquired about the call sign but did not get any response and saw the aircraft crashing outside the airport boundary.

Significantly the report rules out any doubt about the fitness of the pilots to operate the ill-fated flight. ‘’The crew of flight AI171 arrived at the airport and underwent preflight Breath Analyzer test at 06:25 UTC and were found fit to operate the flight. The crew is seen arriving at the boarding gate in the CCTV recording at about 07:05 UTC (12:35 IST).’’

It also rules out any shortage of fuel or bird activity in the adjoining areas.

“Fuel on board was 54,200 Kgs and as per the load and trim sheet of the flight, the Take-off Weight was 2,13,401 Kgs (Max. allowed – 2,18,183 Kgs). The take-off weight was within allowable limits for the given conditions.’’

“There was no ‘Dangerous Goods’ on the aircraft.”

The report also ruled out any bird activity saying ‘’No significant bird activity is observed in the vicinity of the flight path.’’

Boeing in its initial rection to the catastrophe said they would ‘’continue to support’’ the investigation and the customers. The aviation company said it would defer to the AIIB probe to provide information about AI 171, id adherence with the United Nations International Civil Organization Protocol.’

‘Our thoughts remain with the loved ones of the passengers and crew on board Air India Flight 171 as well as everyone affected on the ground in Ahmedabad. We continue to support the investigation and our customer. We will defer to the AAIB to provide information about AI 171 in adherence with the United Nations International Protocol known as Annex 13,’ it said in a statement.

Air India in their statement acknowledged that it had received the preliminary report by AAIB and is working closely with stakeholders and would continue to fully cooperate with AAIB and other authorities as their investigation progresses.

The Air India statement as published on their website states  – “We stand 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 cooperate with the AAIB and other authorities as their investigation progresses.”

Air India, however, did not comment on the findings of the report saying ‘’Given the active nature of the investigation, we are unable to comment on specific details and refer all such enquiries to the AAIB.’’

The Report said ‘’Investigation is continuing and the investigation team will review and examine additional evidence, records and information that is being sought from the stakeholders.’’