AAIB preliminary report found nothing wrong with the engines or the airline’s operations: AI

By India Strategic Bureau

NEW DELHI, October 30, 2025. Air India Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson underscored that the interim report of the June 12 AI-171 crash by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) found nothing wrong with the engines or the operations of the airline.

Taking the stage at the Aviation India Summit 2025 here on Wednesday, Wilson stated this was the first public engagement the airline conducted in India since the tragic accident of its Ahmedabad-London flight. Barring a lone miraculous survivor, 241 people on board the Boeing Dreamliner were killed when the plane crashed into a college building.

Asserting that anything that happens in the industry, either for it or any other airlines, becomes a “cause for introspection…for reviewing practices. The interim report released during July this year, he said, indicated there was nothing wrong with the aircraft engines or practices requiring a change. “Of course, we are always looking at how we can keep improving, keep getting better and keep learning”, Wilson said.

Air India had been subjected to intense scrutiny by the airline’s regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Several of the airline’s executives were served with show- cause notices on various violations.

The AAIB interim report suggested that fuel supply to both the engines were cut-off shortly after take-off. The fuel control switches changed to ‘cut-off’ position quickly. Though these were turned back some 10 seconds later, the engines had flamed out. The report stated that one pilot sought to know from the other why the fuel switches were moved, which was denied by the latter. It did not identify the purported people in this conversation.

Till date, the AAIB has not issued any directive to either Boeing or the engine manufacturer General Electric to suggest its preliminary report did not find any critical issue with the equipment. The report had attracted adverse comment from the airline officials and industry experts over the choice of a selective conversation from the cockpit voice recorder.

The report did not rule out technical faults and stated aviation medicine and psychology experts were roped in to work with the probe team. Campbell said while the airline was not involved directly, it was working with the investigators and awaiting the final report.

Besides setting up a trust through its parent Tata Trust, the airlines said it provided ex gratia payments to all those affected by the crash. After completing the interim compensation, the airline was working for final compensation.