On June 12 in Ahmedabad, Air India flight AI171 lifted off on what should have been a routine service to London. Minutes later, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner plunged into a nearby building, erupting into a fireball that claimed more than 260 lives, passengers, crew, and people on the ground, marking the world’s deadliest aviation accident in a decade.
A preliminary report by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has revealed a troubling chain of cockpit confusion, unexplained mechanical events, and devastating consequences. At the heart of the mystery: two critical engine fuel cutoff switches, found in the “run” position at the crash site but reported to have flipped to “cutoff” in flight , starving both engines of fuel at the most vulnerable moment.
In the wake of tragedy, as investigators sift through data, cockpit recordings, and wreckage, the accident exposes not only technical puzzles but also deeper questions about human factors, design decisions, and the immense pressure facing Air India as it tries to reinvent itself under new private ownership.
A Routine Takeoff That Never Was
At 56, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal had logged more than 15,600 flight hours and was an instructor at Air India. His first officer, 32-year-old Clive Kunder, had 3,400 hours, a respectable, though far shorter, résumé. At 02:12 local time on June 12, flight AI171 rolled down the runway at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, carrying 242 souls bound for London Heathrow.
Seconds after liftoff, closed-circuit TV footage captured an ominous sight: the ram air turbine, an emergency backup power source, deploying , an automatic signal of sudden engine power loss. Moments later, cockpit voice recordings caught an unsettling exchange. One pilot asked the other: “Why did you cut off the fuel?” The reply: “I did not do so.”
Within moments, the jet lost altitude, clipped trees and an incinerator chimney, and crashed into a building barely 650 feet beyond the runway. Only one person on board survived.
The Switches That Should Never Move
The AAIB report does not accuse either pilot of error, nor does it explain how the engine fuel cutoff switches, vital levers typically flipped only when shutting engines down at the gate or in case of fire could have moved in flight. Experts underline the improbability.
“A pilot wouldn’t accidentally turn them off, especially during climb,” said U.S. aviation safety analyst John Nance. The switches flipped roughly a second apart, about the time it would take to move them by hand, but there was no indication of any emergency requiring such action.
At the crash site, investigators found the switches back in the “run” position and evidence suggesting both engines had attempted to relight before impact, raising the possibility that the crew, realizing the crisis, scrambled to restart the engines as altitude vanished.
Design, Human Factors, or Something Else?
This unexplained movement raises broader design questions. In modern cockpits, such switches are deliberately engineered to resist accidental activation. If not human error, could it have been mechanical fault, electrical anomaly, or a previously unknown design vulnerability? Investigators have not ruled out any hypothesis.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have both pledged to “follow the facts,” though so far, the AAIB’s preliminary findings have not triggered safety directives affecting other Boeing 787 operators worldwide.
A Crisis for Air India at a Crucial Moment
For Air India, the crash strikes at a precarious time. Under Tata Group ownership since 2022, the once state-run carrier has launched a multibillion-dollar campaign to modernize its image and fleet, aiming to transform from a cautionary tale of inefficiency into a competitor on par with Emirates and Singapore Airlines.
The Dreamliner tragedy, however, risks tarnishing this progress. It also adds to scrutiny from international regulators: the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is separately investigating Air India Express, the group’s low-cost arm, over alleged failures to replace Airbus A320 engine parts and falsified maintenance records.
With India’s government betting on aviation to power economic development and position the country as a global hub, any erosion of trust in its national flag carrier carries implications far beyond a single company.
Unanswered Questions and Global Attention
The AAIB’s preliminary report, released roughly 30 days after the crash in line with international norms, is only the start. Black box data and voice recordings must now be analyzed alongside mechanical forensics to determine how a modern, twin-engine jet like the 787 could face such a disaster.
Historically, most aviation disasters stem from multiple causes: technical flaws compounded by human error, organizational pressure, or inadequate training. Whether this tragedy will fit that pattern remains to be seen.
Boeing, facing its own reputational headwinds after earlier safety crises, said it is fully supporting the investigation. GE Aerospace, which built the engines, has yet to comment publicly.
A Tragedy Beyond Numbers
For the families who gathered at prayer meetings in Mumbai and London, technical questions offer little solace. Among them was the father of first officer Kunder, who declined to speak to reporters, simply saying: “I am not from the airline.”
As investigators continue their work, the loss of flight AI171 is a stark reminder: even in an age of advanced automation and record safety levels, aviation remains an unforgiving arena where design, training, and decision-making must align perfectly and where a moment of confusion, or an unexplained mechanical event, can prove catastrophic.
The final report, expected within a year, may yet explain what went so terribly wrong. Until then, for Air India and for aviation worldwide, the crash stands as a haunting question mark over how a plane full of hope and routine departed safely, but never truly left the ground.
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