Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu on Saturday lauded the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) for its “commendable, transparent and professional” investigation into the Air India AI171 crash, which claimed 260 lives last month.
Speaking to ANI, the minister said the preliminary report released by the AAIB on Friday is currently being reviewed by the Civil Aviation Ministry. He assured that further comments would follow only after the final report is released.
“I appreciate the job done by the AAIB—very commendable. It was a challenging and tough task. For the first time, the black box was safely retrieved and decoded within India, in the Delhi lab. This is a first-of-its-kind development. The AAIB has carried out the investigation transparently and in line with international protocols,” Naidu said.
He also stated that the ministry is coordinating closely with the AAIB and will offer any support needed to complete the investigation.
“This is a preliminary report. We are analysing it and will wait for the final findings before drawing any conclusions,” he added.
Naidu further underlined that pilots and crew are the backbone of India’s aviation sector, and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to upholding highest safety standards.
The Air India Boeing 787-8 aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12, killing 229 passengers, 12 crew members, and 19 people on the ground.
According to the AAIB’s preliminary findings, both engines shut down within 90 seconds of takeoff, triggered by the inadvertent movement of fuel cutoff switches from “RUN” to “CUTOFF.” Cockpit audio captured a pilot asking, “Why did you cut off?” followed by the response, “I did not.”
The incident activated the Ram Air Turbine (RAT), but the aircraft could not sustain powered flight. While the crew attempted to restart the engines, only Engine 1 showed partial thrust recovery. A final “MAYDAY” distress call was sent just before the plane crashed into nearby residential buildings.