The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on Thursday (February 12) clarified that the investigation into the Air India AI-171 accident is still ongoing, dismissing media reports claiming the probe is complete as “speculative and incorrect.”
Fact vs. Speculation
“The investigation is still in progress. No final conclusions have been reached,” the AAIB said in a statement on Thursday, a day after an Italian website, ‘Corriere della Sera’, claimed that the investigation into the June 2025 Air India plane crash by the AAIB is at its fag end.
The Italian newspaper reported on Wednesday that Indian investigators are preparing to state in the final report that Air India Flight 171 crashed because one of the pilots turned off the aircraft’s fuel switches in an “almost certainly” intentional act, citing sources in western aviation agencies.
The newspaper said that there was key evidence, including cockpit voice recordings, cleansed of background noise, identifying which pilot moved the fuel switch “from RUN to CUTOFF”.
32-Second Tragedy
As many as 260 people died – 241 of the 242 on board the plane and 19 on the ground in the 12 June plane crash in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, operated by Air India, had taken off from Ahmedabad airport when it crashed seconds later. A total of 260 people were killed in the disaster, including passengers and individuals inside a medical students’ hostel on which the aircraft fell. Only one passenger survived.
A preliminary report released in July 2025 by the AAIB said moments after take-off, the plane’s fuel control switches were moved from the “run” to the “cut-off” position. The AAIB report also mentioned the cockpit exchange. The government has so far desisted from directly blaming the pilots for the tragedy.