A Year After Air India Crash Killed 260: Still No Final Answers
On the first anniversary of the Air India flight AI171 crash that killed 260 people, victims' families are still waiting for the final investigation report. An interim report is expected soon, but relatives demand definitive answers.
Friday marked one year since the deadly Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash in a densely populated suburb of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, western India, which killed 260 people. Families of the victims gathered at the crash site to observe the anniversary, but they are still waiting for answers about why the aircraft went down shortly after takeoff from the nearby airport.
Indian authorities are expected to release an interim report in the coming days, adding to the frustration of relatives who had hoped for a final disclosure. Media reports, citing unnamed sources, indicate that the final report will be delayed because investigators need to complete an analysis of the plane's engines.
Under international aviation rules, a final report is due "if possible" within a year of an accident. If the investigation takes longer, an interim statement should be issued on each anniversary.
What Happened to the Air India Plane?
Flight AI171, en route to London Gatwick, crashed into a medical college hostel in the residential area of Meghani Nagar, close to the international airport. According to flight tracking website Flightradar24, the plane's final signal was received seconds after takeoff at 1:38 pm local time (08:08 GMT) at an altitude of 625 feet (190 metres). The pilot had issued a mayday alert to air traffic control just before all communications ceased.
Casualties and Survivors
Of the 242 people on board, only one passenger survived: Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national. The dead included 169 Indian nationals and 52 British nationals. In total, 260 people died, including 19 on the ground, and another 67 people near the site were injured.
On Thursday, Ramesh's representative, Sanjiv Patel, told The Guardian that Air India had paid £21,500 ($28,800) in compensation to Ramesh to support his wife and five-year-old son. It is unclear whether similar payments have been made to other families.
Preliminary Reports
This was the first crash involving a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which has been in service since 2011. India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) published a preliminary report one month after the disaster. The 15-page document stated that the fuel supply to the engines had been cut off moments before the crash, raising questions about possible pilot error. A cockpit conversation about the fuel switches prompted theories of pilot suicide.
The preliminary report was heavily criticised because it did not explain why the fuel switches were turned off — whether it was pilot error or a malfunction. It also made no safety recommendations to Boeing or engine maker GE Aerospace, suggesting no technical issues were found.
Latest on the Investigation
The Federation of Indian Pilots has urged investigators to seek more technical data from Boeing and Air India to rebut the pilot suicide theory. Its president, Charanvir Randhawa, told a news conference ahead of the anniversary that an interim report would only cause more speculation.
According to US officials cited by Reuters last year, the cockpit voice recorder indicated that the captain cut the fuel flow. However, the AAIB said at the time it was "too early to reach any definite conclusions."
Investigators conducted engine testing in April and visited France last month to analyse the engine management unit. Bloomberg reported on Thursday that the final report could be expected within three months, once studies of the engines sent to the US are concluded.
The captain's father has petitioned India's top court for an independent investigation that examines causes other than deliberate pilot action — a cause confirmed in the case of Germanwings Flight 9525, which crashed into the French Alps in 2015, killing all 150 on board.
