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Fuel cutoff after takeoff
Air India Flight 171 crashed near the runway shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025, killing 241 of the 242 people onboard and 19 people on the ground, while investigators focused on how the Boeing 787-8’s engine fuel control switches moved from RUN to CUTOFF seconds after takeoff.
“One year after the crash of Air India Flight 171, the cause of the fatal Boeing 787 disaster remains shrouded in uncertainty as investigators continue to examine whether deliberate pilot action, an aircraft technical issue or some other sequence led to the tragedy”
The BBC described the flight leaving Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport in Ahmedabad in Gujarat with Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and first officer Clive Kunder, and said the crash came just 32 seconds after take-off with another 19 killed on the ground.
In the preliminary report, the AAIB said that in the cockpit voice recording, one pilot asked the other why he cutoff and the other responded that he did not do so, a line that the BBC quoted as "why did he cutoff" and "The other pilot responded that he did not do so."
The investigation’s stakes were framed by the BBC through Annex 13’s principle that "the sole objective of the investigation" is prevention rather than apportioning blame, even as the fuel-switch sequence triggered intense controversy.
Dispute over intent
The dispute over what caused the crash sharpened around the AAIB’s preliminary report, which the BBC said noted that the two fuel cutoff switches transitioned from the run to the cutoff position seconds after take-off, depriving the engines of fuel and rapidly reducing thrust.
The BBC also reported that former NTSB chairman Robert Sumwalt told CBS News that "this was not a problem with the airplane or the engines" and that "somebody in the cockpit shut the fuel off to those engines."
As the investigation continued, the Air Journal account said Italian and Indian media outlets citing sources close to the Indian Air Accident Investigation Bureau leaned toward a scenario of a deliberate act in the cockpit, describing that the captain deliberately cut the fuel supply to both engines a few seconds after takeoff.
That same Air Journal report centered the cockpit voice exchange on the question "why did you cut" the fuel and the reply "it wasn't me," while it said the AAIB preliminary report recorded fuel control switches moved from 'run' to 'cutoff' just after takeoff.
What’s at risk next
As the first anniversary approached, AeroTime said investigators were expected to delay the final report into the crash as work continued on engine-related analysis, with Reuters reporting on June 11, 2026 that the AAIB was preparing to issue an interim update rather than a final report around the first anniversary.
“BySharon PetersenThu Jun 11, 2026 0 For 30 seconds on 12 June 2025, everything looked routine”
AeroTime also said the final report may be delayed by about three months, and it tied the delay to unfinished analysis of the aircraft’s GE Aerospace engines and related engine-management electronics, with investigators having carried out work in France and continuing studies in the United States.
The BBC framed the broader consequences for Boeing and Air India by saying the investigation was about "the integrity of one of its premium products: the 787 Dreamliner" and that Air India could ill-afford to see its brand tarnished.
For families, the BBC said the final conclusions have yet to be published and that the controversy exposed deeper questions about whether national authorities can be trusted to conduct investigations, while Annex 13’s prevention-focused objective remained the stated legal standard.
