AI171 crash: fresh questions over electrical systems, not pilot error

A pilots’ body has urged the government to examine whether a “pre-lift-off electrical disturbance” could have triggered the fatal crash of an Air India Dreamliner last year, raising fresh questions even as the final probe report remains pending.

The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has written to the civil aviation ministry suggesting that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) expand its investigation into possible electrical system anomalies in the aircraft.

The Air India Flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner en route to London Gatwick, crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad airport on 12 June 2025, killing 260 people.

In its preliminary report released on 12 July 2025, the AAIB said fuel supply to both engines was cut off within a one-second interval, leading to confusion in the cockpit moments after take-off. “In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cut off. The other pilot responded that he did not do so,” the report noted.

While the final report is still awaited, concerns have been raised about the aircraft’s electrical systems and the functioning of its fuel control switches.

In a letter dated 1 May, the FIP said: “Based on lithium-ion battery failures, relay behaviour under abnormal voltage, and Boeing 787 electrical design, a prelift-off electrical disturbance could have caused unintended relay operation and dual engine fuel cut-off without pilot input.”

The body urged that the possibility be treated as a “testable hypothesis” and examined through detailed electrical analysis by institutions such as IIT Bombay, the Aeronautical Development Agency, or Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.

“Technical causes cannot be ruled out till this analysis is made,” the FIP said. It also reiterated its earlier demand for verification of the timing sequence cited in the AAIB’s preliminary report through simulator testing on the B787.

The crash and subsequent findings have sparked debate over the role of technical factors versus pilot action. In September 2025, the Supreme Court of India criticised the selective publication of the preliminary report, calling it “unfortunate and irresponsible” for fuelling a media narrative around pilot lapses.

Separately, Pushkaraj Sabharwal, father of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal—one of the pilots of the ill-fated flight—had sought a formal investigation by the central government in August last year.

With multiple questions still unanswered, the focus now shifts to the final AAIB report and whether it will address the possibility of an underlying technical failure.

(With agency inputs)