It’s not the full or the final report of the investigation that India’s civil aviation ministry’s probe panel conducted in the Air India plane crash that happened in Ahmedabad in June. But this is some report, released by the government overnight, that raises multiple queries while answering some, most important of which is establishing the sequence from the run to May Day call.
Now, let’s soft through the 15-page report, which declares its “sole objective” to be the “prevention of accidents, not blame or liability”.
Preliminary report: Air India B787-8 crash at Ahmedabad
Publisher: Government of India, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB)
Legal Base: Report prepared under ICAO Annex 13, Rule 3 of India’s Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules 2017.
General information
- Aircraft: Boeing 787-8 (VT-ANB), Indian registration
- Owner/Operator: Air India
- Date/Time: 12 June 2025, 0809 UTC (13:39 IST)
- Location: Ahmedabad, 23°03’17.8″N 72°36’43.6″E
- Flight: AI171 Ahmedabad to London Gatwick
- Phase: Initial climb
- Persons on Board: 230 passengers, 12 crew
- Fatalities: 241 on board, 19 on ground; 1 survivor
Background
- Flight AI171 crashed seconds after takeoff, impacting BJ Medical College hostel, ~0.9 NM from runway end
- International notifications sent; US NTSB, Boeing, GE, FAA involved
Injuries to persons
| Injuries | Crew | Passengers | Others |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fatal | 12 | 229 | 19 |
| Serious | 0 | 1 | 67 |
| Minor/None | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Only one passenger survived: British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, seat 11A
Aircraft information
- Model: Boeing 787-8, Serial 36279, Year 2013
- Engines: GEnx-1B70/75/P2 (LH), GEnx-1B70/P2 (RH)
- Total Hours: ~41,868
- Last ARC: 22 May 2025 (valid to 23 May 2026)
- MEL items: Four CAT C active; no fuel control switch defects since 2023
Damages
- Aircraft destroyed by impact and fire
- Five buildings heavily damaged
Wreckage and impact
- First impact: BJ Medical College hostel
- Debris field: ~1000 ft x 400 ft
- Major components embedded in buildings and scattered across site
Personnel information
- Captain: Age 56, ATPL, 15,638 hrs (8,596 on B787)
- Co-pilot: Age 32, CPL, 3,403 hrs (1,128 on B787)
Meteorological information
- Winds: 240–260/03–07 kts
- Visibility: 6000 m
- Temperature: 36–38°C
- No significant weather
Aerodrome
- Ahmedabad (VAAH), Runway 05-23, 3505 m, ILS CAT-1 on RWY 23
Communications
- Pushback: 07:43 UTC
- Takeoff clearance: 08:07:33 UTC
- MAYDAY call: 08:09:05 UTC (“loss of power and thrust”)
Flight recorders
- Both recorders recovered; Forward EAFR data downloaded (49 hours, 6 flights incl. event)
Accident flight
- Aircraft arrived as AI423; minor tech issue fixed pre-flight
- Takeoff weight: 213,401 kg
- Takeoff speeds: V1 153 kts, Vr 155 kts, V2 162 kts
- Liftoff: ~08:08:39 UTC
- Both engines cut off fuel within 1 second of each other at ~180 kts IAS
- Pilot questioned fuel cutoff on cockpit voice
- RAT deployed, attempted in-flight relight before impact
Progress of investigation
- Site secured, engines quarantined, fuel tested
- Flight recorder data under analysis
- Witness statements and postmortem ongoing
- No recommendations yet for operators or manufacturers
