A brand new concept is gaining floor within the ongoing investigation into the deadly June 12 crash of Air India Flight 171, with investigators now intently analyzing the position of the engine gasoline management switches on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The main focus has shifted from mechanical failure to the potential motion – unintended or in any other case – of the cockpit switches answerable for gasoline movement to the plane’s engines.
As first reported by Jon Ostrower, of The Air Present, on July 8, 2025, knowledge retrieved from the plane’s flight and voice recorders has narrowed investigative consideration to the two-position engine gasoline management switches (RUN & CUTOFF), which – if inadvertently moved to the CUTOFF place throughout flight – would have induced a right away engine shutdown, a lack of thrust, and subsequent cascading failures in onboard techniques.
Whereas no mechanical or design fault has been recognized with the GE Aerospace GEnx-1B engines or the switches themselves, specialists talking to The Air Present confirmed that the post-crash evaluation confirmed no gasoline contamination or flap retraction points – generally suspected in such occasions. The absence of any multi-operator advisory from Boeing or GE and the dearth of pressing security bulletins additional factors investigators towards a attainable cockpit-originated occasion.
The deadly crash, which killed 241 of 242 individuals on board and 19 on the bottom simply 32 seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad, marks the first-ever deadly accident involving Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner. The plane reportedly misplaced thrust earlier than crashing right into a hostel close to BJ Medical School, with no proof but ruling out improper, inadvertent, or intentional motion of the gasoline switches.
The switches are designed to be guarded and require a deliberate elevate over a metallic cease to interact – making unintended contact unlikely, although not inconceivable. The Air Present notes that the investigation might take months, and the ultimate report will rely on evaluation of the exact timing and sequencing of swap actions captured by the black containers.
As India’s AAIB prepares to submit its preliminary report back to ICAO by July 11, aviation specialists worldwide await readability on whether or not human motion contained in the cockpit triggered the tragic chain of occasions.
