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Can't draw conclusions from preliminary report, pilots' conversation brief: Union Minister on AAIB report

Updated on: 12 July,2025 02:50 PM IST  |  Pune
mid-day online correspondent |

The London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a medical college hostel in Ahmedabad moments after taking off from the city airport, killing all but one of the 242 onboard and another 19 on the ground in the deadliest aviation accident in a decade

Can't draw conclusions from preliminary report, pilots' conversation brief: Union Minister on AAIB report

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Union minister Murlidhar Mohol on Saturday said the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB)'s report on the Ahmedabad plane crash was a preliminary one and conclusions cannot be drawn based on it as the conversation between the pilots was very brief, reported PTI.

Union minister Murlidhar Mohol on Saturday said the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB)'s report on the Ahmedabad plane crash was a preliminary one and conclusions cannot be drawn based on it as the conversation between the pilots was very brief, reported PTI.

The Minister of State for Civil Aviation was talking to reporters in Pune about the investigation into the June 12 plane crash.



The London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a medical college hostel in Ahmedabad moments after taking off from the city airport, killing all but one of the 242 onboard and another 19 on the ground in the deadliest aviation accident in a decade.


The AAIB has released its preliminary report on the fatal Air India plane crash. It was found that the fuel supply to both engines was cut off within a second of each other, causing confusion in the cockpit and the airplane plummeting back to the ground almost immediately after taking off, reported PTI.

The 15-page report says that in the cockpit voice recording, one unidentified pilot asked the other why he had cut off the fuel, which the other denied.

Mohol said, "This is a preliminary report. We cannot draw any conclusions based on it. Earlier, in case of such accidents, the black box had to be sent abroad. Now, we can complete this investigation quickly ourselves. The AAIB is an independent body. There is no interference from the ministry in it," reported PTI.

"No conclusions can be drawn based on the pilots' conversation as it is very brief. Further investigation is necessary. We should wait for that report," he added.

On Friday, India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released the preliminary report on the tragic crash of Air India flight AI171.

The report outlines a harrowing sequence of events that unfolded within 90 seconds of takeoff, as both engines of the aircraft shut down unexpectedly during the initial climb, leading to a catastrophic loss of thrust and rapid descent.

Flight data recovered from the aircraft's Enhanced Airborne Flight Recorder (EAFR) revealed that the fuel cutoff switches for both engines were inadvertently moved from RUN to CUTOFF, one after the other within a 1-second interval, at an altitude just moments after liftoff. One pilot was heard asking the other, "Why did you cut off?" to which the response was, "I did not."

This uncommanded shutdown triggered the deployment of the Ram Air Turbine (RAT), and the aircraft began losing altitude almost immediately, unable to sustain powered flight.

According to the AAIB, the pilots re-engaged the fuel switches in an attempt to relight both engines. Engine 1 showed signs of recovering thrust, but Engine 2 failed to stabilise. The aircraft, which had briefly reached a speed of 180 knots, was already descending and failed to regain altitude. The final distress call -- a "MAYDAY" -- was transmitted at 08:09 UTC, just seconds before the aircraft crashed into residential buildings outside the airport perimeter.

(With inputs from PTI)

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