Air India Flight 171 Crash Report | June 2025 Ahmedabad Disaster, Investigation & Safety Impact

Air India Flight 171 Crash Report

Air India Flight 171 Background: Aircraft and Airline

Air India Flight 171 was operated with a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, a modern wide-body jet introduced in 2011 and widely used by airlines worldwide. The particular aircraft, registration VT-ANB, was 11 years old – first flown in late 2013 and delivered to Air India in January 2014 from Boeing’s Everett assembly plant. It was powered by twin General Electric GEnx-1B engines. Notably, this crash marked the first-ever fatal accident and hull loss for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner since the type entered commercial service. Air India, India’s flag carrier, has a long history of global operations and was acquired by the Tata Group in 2022 after decades as a state-run airline. Prior to Flight 171, Air India had not experienced a fatal crash since the bombing of Flight 182 in 1985, making this its first major accident in nearly four decades. The London-bound Flight 171 route (Ahmedabad to London Gatwick) was a recently established service in 2023 as part of the airline’s international expansion.

The Incident: Crash of Flight 171

 Caption: Firefighters inspect the wreckage of Air India Flight 171’s Boeing 787 at the crash site on the B.J. Medical College campus in Ahmedabad (June 2025).On June 12, 2025, Flight 171 departed Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 13:38 local time (08:08 UTC) bound for London Gatwick. Almost immediately after liftoff, the aircraft failed to gain altitude. Witnesses and CCTV footage indicated the plane initially climbed a few hundred feet before it began descending in a nose-up attitude, unable to sustain flight. About 30–40 seconds after takeoff, the Boeing 787-8 plunged into a densely populated area just beyond the airport perimeter. It struck the hostel and residential quarters of Ahmedabad’s B.J. Medical College and Civil Hospital campus, approximately 1.5 km from the runway, triggering a massive explosion and fire on impact. Debris was scattered across the buildings; the tail section and stabilizers of the jet came to rest atop a multi-storey hostel wing, and several structures were heavily damaged by the crash and ensuing blaze.

Air India Flight 171 Casualties and Rescue Efforts

The crash resulted in a devastating loss of life. All but one of the 242 people on board the flight were killed, and only a single passenger survived the disaster. The lone survivor – a 40-year-old British national seated by an emergency exit – remarkably escaped with minor injuries, as that section of the fuselage broke off relatively intact and he was able to walk away from the wreckage. The other 241 passengers and crew perished, including multiple children and nationals of India, the UK, Portugal, and Canada who were on the flight manifest. On the ground, 19 people in the dormitory and surrounding area were also killed when the plane tore through the building, and at least sixty to seventy more were injured by the impact or the fires that followed. The crash scene was chaotic, with intense flames reaching an estimated 1,500 °C hindering immediate recovery efforts.

Emergency responders launched a massive rescue and fire containment operation. The Ahmedabad Fire Department and disaster response teams were on site within minutes of the 13:39 crash, supported by units from the airport and neighboring districts. More than 300 firefighters and 60 fire engines, along with army, police, and National Disaster Response Force personnel, battled the blaze and searched for survivors in the rubble.

Multiple ambulances rushed the injured – including dozens of medical students from the hostel – to nearby hospitals. Authorities sealed off the area and halted all flights at Ahmedabad Airport for several hours to facilitate rescue operations. In the days following, painstaking DNA analysis was required to identify victims due to the severity of the fire, but by late June the identities of all 260 deceased had been confirmed. The gravity of the tragedy was underscored by the loss of prominent individuals (including a former state Chief Minister) among the passengers, and the fact that this became the deadliest aviation accident in India since 1996.

Air India Flight 171 Investigation Findings

Indian authorities opened an immediate investigation into the cause of the crash, led by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) of India with international assistance.

The flight’s two “black box” recorders – enhanced devices housing both flight data and cockpit voice recordings – were recovered from the wreckage within days and sent for analysis in New Delhi. Preliminary readouts from these recorders revealed a startling sequence of events during Flight 171’s final moments. Seconds after takeoff, both of the Boeing 787’s engine fuel control switches were observed to move from the “RUN” position to “CUTOFF,” effectively starving both engines of fuel and causing a rapid loss of thrust. Cockpit voice recordings captured one pilot urgently asking “Why did you cut off?” to which the other pilot responded, “I did not do so,” indicating both were baffled by the sudden shutdown. According to the data, the switches toggled off one after the other within the span of a single second, and almost immediately the engines began spooling down.

As power was lost, the aircraft’s emergency systems automatically engaged. Airport CCTV and flight data confirmed the deployment of the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) – a small wind turbine that pops out to supply emergency hydraulic and electrical power – just moments after liftoff. The crew, realizing both engines had flamed out, quickly attempted restart procedures: within about 10 seconds the fuel switches were flipped back to “RUN” and the auxiliary power unit (APU) also started up to provide power.

Engine #1 responded and began to relight, but Engine #2 failed to regain thrust in the few seconds available. The aircraft, already too low and slow, continued to descend. Approximately 23 seconds after the initial cutoff, one of the pilots transmitted a frenzied “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday” distress call. No further communication came, as the plane crashed into the building almost immediately thereafter. Investigators noted from the flight data that the landing gear had never been retracted and both thrust levers were still set to takeoff power until impact, despite the engines producing little to no thrust by that point. Wreckage examination found the fuel control levers back in the RUN position in the cockpit, consistent with the crew’s desperate attempts to recover power before the fatal impact.

The official Preliminary Report was released by the AAIB on July 8, 2025, providing the first detailed account of the accident but stopping short of definitive conclusions. Crucially, the preliminary findings did not identify any evident mechanical failures in the aircraft systems or engines that could have directly caused the dual engine shutdown.

All onboard systems were reportedly working normally prior to takeoff, and the 787 had been airworthy with proper maintenance and a valid certificate through 2026. The report did not issue any urgent safety recommendations for Boeing or other operators, indicating that no specific systemic defect had yet been confirmed. Investigators emphasized that the cause of the mysterious fuel cutoff remained under active investigation, and a final determination would require further analysis of data and components. India’s AAIB is being assisted by experts from Boeing, as well as accredited investigators from the United States (National Transportation Safety Board) and United Kingdom, given the aircraft’s U.S. manufacture and the UK destination. Both of the 787’s engines and related avionics are undergoing detailed forensic examination. Authorities have cautioned that a conclusive report may take many months (likely over a year) to complete, as they meticulously reconstruct the chain of events and contributing factors.

Air India Flight 171 Possible Causes and Contributing Factors

The Flight 171 disaster has prompted extensive scrutiny of potential causes, since the simultaneous loss of both engines on takeoff is an exceedingly rare event. A critical focus is on how the fuel control switches could have been moved to “Cutoff” in flight.

Aviation experts note that these guarded switches are designed to prevent accidental toggling – each requires deliberate lifting and turning action, making an inadvertent bump highly unlikely. Deliberate human action is also difficult to fathom: investigators have found no indication of sabotage or malfeasance, and both pilots were experienced and had clean records, making a purposeful shutoff by crew “unthinkable” by normal standards. While pilot error in the conventional sense (such as a mistaken switch activation) cannot be entirely ruled out, India’s pilot union has strongly objected to any premature “bias toward pilot error” absent hard evidence. Indeed, the cockpit conversation captured (“Why did you cut off?” / “I did not”) suggests neither pilot intended to cut the fuel. Thus, attention has turned to whether some anomaly in the aircraft’s systems or an external factor could have caused the fuel valves to shut.

Investigators are examining multiple technical angles to explain the dual engine flame-out. One line of inquiry involves the fuel control mechanism itself – specifically, whether a mechanical or electrical fault could have moved the fuel lever switches without direct human input. Industry analysts point out that modern jets like the 787 have sophisticated automation: for instance, a built-in safety logic called Thrust Control Malfunction Accommodation (TCMA) can, in extreme cases, modulate or cut fuel flow if it detects certain engine failures. A former Indian Airlines pilot noted that this software system, or a sensor error feeding into it, might conceivably have commanded the fuel valves closed if it falsely “thought” both engines had a serious problem. Boeing and engine-maker GE have maintained that no known issue would cause an uncommanded cutoff, but experts say a one-in-a-billion electronic glitch cannot be completely dismissed until the hardware and software are thoroughly vetted.

Another potential factor under scrutiny is a prior design advisory about the fuel switch hardware. In late 2018, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin warning that certain aircraft fuel control switches (of a type similar to the 787’s) could have their locking mechanism improperly installed or disengaged, which might allow unintended movement. This bulletin was prompted by reports from some Boeing 737 operators who found anomalous fuel switch behavior.

Compliance with the FAA’s recommendation to inspect and correct the switch locking feature was optional (not mandated), and Air India confirmed that no such special inspection had been performed on the 787 involved in Flight 171. Maintenance records did show that the aircraft’s throttle control module (which includes the fuel switch assembly) had been replaced in 2019 and again in 2023 for unrelated issues, and no fuel switch defects were reported in service after those replacements. Investigators will evaluate whether an undetected mechanical anomaly – possibly related to the switch locks or any part of the fuel control system – could have played a role in this accident.

So far, fuel samples from the plane’s last refueling tested normal (ruling out contaminated fuel), the aircraft’s weight and balance were within limits, and weather conditions were benign at the time of takeoff. There was also no evidence of bird strike or other external interference, based on ATC observations and CCTV footage. With many typical causes preliminarily excluded, the Flight 171 investigation is centering on this unusual fuel cutoff event – whether due to an extremely improbable human error, a hidden technical fault, or some interaction of factors – and investigators have stated that only a detailed systematic analysis will yield the answers in the final report.

Air India Flight 171 Aftermath and Legacy

In the wake of the crash, Air India and government authorities undertook several measures to assist victims’ families and to bolster aviation safety. The Tata Group (Air India’s parent company) announced a compensation package of ₹10 million (1 crore rupees, approximately USD $120,000) for the family of each passenger who lost their life. This was an ex-gratia payment above any insurance or legal compensation, and it was later extended to include the families of those killed on the ground as well.

The airline also offered to cover all medical and rehabilitation expenses for injured survivors, both from the flight and the affected area. In coordination with local authorities, Air India set up assistance centers in Ahmedabad to support next of kin with identification of remains and to provide counseling. Interim relief payments were disbursed within days of the accident to help families with immediate needs. As a mark of respect, Air India retired the flight numbers AI171/172 for the Ahmedabad–London route; subsequent flights on that sector have been redesignated under different numbers to honor the memory of those lost. There was widespread mourning, and condolence messages poured in from leaders worldwide – including India’s Prime Minister and Britain’s Prime Minister – reflecting the tragedy’s international impact. Memorial observances were held in both India and the UK, and a minute of silence was observed during a major public event in London to remember the victims.

Beyond the human dimension, the crash prompted immediate safety actions and a reevaluation of protocols. India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), ordered a comprehensive “safety inspection” of all Boeing 787 Dreamliners in Air India’s fleet days after the accident. The airline operates 33 Dreamliners, and each was grounded in turn for rigorous checks of critical systems – particularly fuel control, engine electronics, and related mechanisms – to ensure no latent issues similar to Flight 171 could be present. By late June, inspections on the majority of the 787 fleet (over two dozen aircraft) had been completed with no major safety concerns identified, according to the DGCA’s initial findings. Air India even voluntarily extended inspections to its Boeing 777 fleet as an extra precaution, despite that model not being involved in the incident. These extensive checks necessitated temporary flight cancellations and schedule reductions – roughly 15% of the airline’s international widebody flights were cut in the weeks following the crash – causing some disruption to travelers. However, the airline stated that these “safety pauses” were a necessary step to rebuild confidence, and normal operations were gradually restored by mid-July once the fleet was cleared.

A broader conversation has emerged about the implications of Flight 171 on aviation safety and Boeing’s aircraft. Even though the investigation is ongoing, industry observers note that this tragedy – the world’s deadliest air disaster in a decade – serves as a stark reminder that even advanced aircraft are not immune to rare failures. Aviation safety agencies worldwide are closely watching the inquiry for any lessons or advisories that might arise, particularly concerning engine control systems on modern jets. Boeing has dispatched experts to assist and has stated it will fully cooperate with authorities, emphasizing that it will defer to the AAIB’s findings per international protocols. In India, the crash has spurred calls for greater transparency in air accident investigations and for including independent experts (such as pilot representatives) in the process to avoid premature blame on crew until facts are clear.

Air India, which is in the midst of an ambitious modernization and expansion program under Tata ownership, faces the challenge of reassuring the public and its staff that safety is paramount. Company executives and analysts have expressed confidence that this incident, while tragic, is a “one-off” event that will not derail Air India’s growth plans. The carrier has already placed large orders for new aircraft and is overhauling its operations; in the words of a former Air India director, “there can be no looking back” – the focus now is on learning from the accident and preventing such a scenario from ever occurring again. The legacy of Flight 171 will likely include more stringent safety checks and renewed attention to aircraft design details, ensuring that the hard lessons from this catastrophe lead to improvements in aviation safety for the future.