On June 12, 2025, we saw an Air India Boeing 787 crash after takeoff from Ahmedabad, killing 260 people. It confirms what had been reported earlier by Jon Ostrower at The Air Current, though in reality, it raises more questions than answers.
AI171 fuel switches were turned off after takeoff
The AAIB has just released its preliminary report about the crash of Air India flight AI171, roughly 30 days after the accident, in line with international standards. What could possibly cause the fuel cutoff switches to be turned off just moments after takeoff? Tens of millions of commercial flights operate globally every year, and the Boeing 787 has been flying for over 15 years, and suffice it to say that something like this hasn’t happened before.
For some additional context, engine fuel control switches are ordinarily only adjusted on the ground, either when the engines are being started up or shut down. A metal stop lock mechanism also requires the crew to lift each switch past the stop in order to move it.
It’s anyone’s guess if what happened here was some horrible technological or mechanical failure, or if there were human factors involved. There’s no answer here that will make the public feel any better, right?
If one were to intentionally take down a plane, starving the engines of fuel just seconds after takeoff is certainly one way to do it; what a horrifying scenario that will no doubt make the travel public feel uneasy
Conversely, if this was some technological issue, that’s perhaps even more frightening of a reality, that the engine cutoff switches could’ve just miraculously had their position switched at such a critical phase of flight
Obviously not all details of the investigation are public.
