Air India Ahmedabad Crash Probe Likely to Extend Past Anniversary as Engine Analysis Drags on

Indian investigators are expected to delay the final report into the Air India Boeing 787 crash past its one-year anniversary on June 12, citing the need to complete an analysis of the aircraft's engines, Reuters reported.

The June 12, 2025 crash, which killed 260 people shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, was one of the world's deadliest air disaster in a decade and the first-ever crash involving a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

The GE Aerospace-made engines have been central to the investigation. A preliminary report released last year showed the 787's engine fuel control switches moved almost simultaneously from "RUN" to "CUTOFF," cutting fuel supply to both engines shortly after takeoff, the report added.

Investigators conducted engine testing in April and visited France last month as part of an analysis of the engine management unit, as per Reuters.

Notably, Bloomberg recently reported that the final report was expected within three months, once studies on the engines — sent to the United States for examination — were concluded. Under international rules, a final accident report is due within a year, but if that deadline is not met, an interim statement must be issued on each anniversary. Reuters had reported last month that Indian officials were preparing an interim report, given the investigation's complexity.

Independent Probe Demands

A cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots before the crash supported early assessments by US officials that the captain had cut fuel flow to the engines, Reuters reported last year. The AAIB said at the time it was "too early to reach any definite conclusions."

The captain's father has since petitioned the Supreme Court to order an independent investigation considering causes beyond deliberate pilot action. On June 5, the Federation of Indian Pilots wrote to the civil aviation minister, the aviation regulator and the Prime Minister's Office requesting that an interim report not be released, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The group also urged investigators to seek additional technical data from Boeing and Air India to allow for a "rebuttal of the pilot suicide theory being explored by the AAIB."

The preliminary report made no safety recommendations to Boeing or GE, indicating no technical issues had been identified at that stage.

The recent development comes after Air India denied pressuring victims' families of the AI-171 crash to accept final compensation within a fixed timeframe, saying families are "entirely free" to wait until the investigation report is released. The airline made these clarifications in a letter to Radhika Mishra, daughter of former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, according to a report by The Indian Express.

Mishra had written to Tata Sons and Air India Chairman N Chandrasekaran opposing a legal waiver requirement attached to the airline's final compensation offer. In her email, she argued that the investigation into the crash was not yet complete, but the airline was asking families to permanently waive present and future claims against Air India and other stakeholders — including aircraft manufacturer Boeing, engine makers General Electric and Honeywell, the Ahmedabad airport, and Indian government agencies — before all the facts were established.

In its letter to Mishra, Air India said final compensation offers were made because a number of families had expressed a desire to receive compensation rather than wait for the investigation report. It added that the legal waiver requirement was in line with standard practice adopted by airlines globally when settlements are made on a final basis.