Air India crash 2025: NTSB chair says media reports are speculative, premature
- By Reuters -
- Jul 19, 2025
The United States National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said on Friday that recent media reports on the crash of an Air India Boeing Dreamliner that killed 260 people were premature and speculative.
A preliminary investigation released last week by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau found confusion in the cockpit shortly before the June 12 crash, and raised fresh questions over the position of the critical engine fuel cutoff switches.
A cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots of the flight supports the view that the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane’s engines, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing a source familiar with U.S. officials’ early assessment of evidence.
GE Aerospace, Boeing, Air India, India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation and AAIB did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Homendy said investigations of this magnitude take time, and that the NTSB will continue to support AAIB’s ongoing probe.
On June 12, 2025, Air India Flight 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed just 30 seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad, India, en route to London Gatwick, claiming 260 lives and leaving one survivor
The preliminary report by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), released on July 12, 2025, has shed light on a perplexing issue: both engines lost thrust after their fuel control switches were moved from the “RUN” to “CUTOFF” position moments after takeoff. Below, we dive into the authentic details of the preliminary findings, piecing together the tragic puzzle of one of India’s deadliest aviation disasters in decades.