AI-171 Crash | The Unanswered Questions Haunting the Air India Flight Disaster in Ahmedabad

Air India plane AI 171 crashed on June 12 in Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff. Now, a month after the tragic crash, claiming the lives of at least 260 people, including the passengers, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) in the wee hours of Saturday released a 15-page preliminary report. According to the report, both engines of the plane shut down moments after they took off, citing a possible fuel cutoff, leading to no flow of fuel to the engines. It also revealed that one pilot was heard asking the other, “Why did you cut off?” To this, the other pilot responded, “I did not do so."

"The aircraft achieved the maximum recorded airspeed of 180 Knots IAS at about 08:08:42 UTC and immediately thereafter, the Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of 01 sec. The Engine N1 and N2 began to decrease from their take-off values as the fuel supply to the engines was cut off," the report further read.

However, several unanswered questions in the report are lingering in our minds.

1. Why did the second engine not stabilise after relighting? 
2. Did the system shut down both engines, or was there manual intervention? 
3. How were both engines shut off within a second?
4. How did the fuel cutoff switches move to cutoff?  
5. Why did the pilot ask, “Why did you cutoff?” — Was it confusion or a malfunction?
6. If neither pilot cut off the engines, what caused the shutdown?
7. Was there a FADEC or auto throttle fault that sent the wrong signal?
8. Why did engine 2 fail to recover even after relight if there was no tech fault?
9. Did a tech issue, power issue or something else cause the cutoff?
10. Did the system alert for a double-engine shutdown? 
11. Was there any prior history of fuel switch or related glitches on this aircraft?
12. Were there any previous PDR entries related to the fuel switch behaviour?
13. Did stabilisation of engine 1 take longer than expected, thereby not being able to steer the flight to safety even if engine 2 gave way? 
14. Why did the FDR stop before the final moments — impact or system shutdown?

Meanwhile, the investigation remains ongoing, and further analysis may lead to future recommendations if warranted by new evidence or insights. In the crash, around 270 people died, including 241 passengers out of 242. The passenger who survived suffered major injuries as he jumped off the plane before the crash. 

Also Read: Air India A1-171 Ahmedabad Plane Crash Report: Full Findings on Fuel Cutoff and Engine Shutdown Reveals