One year after Air India Flight AI171 crashed into a medical college hostel complex in Ahmedabad, killing 260 people, victims’ families are still searching for definitive answers.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner went down just 32 seconds after taking off for London Gatwick on June 12, 2025, leaving behind India's deadliest aviation disaster in decades. Since then, the investigation has been marked by competing theories over what caused the crash, lawsuits by pilots' families and victims' relatives, compensation disputes, and continuing scrutiny of both Boeing and Air India.
As the first anniversary passed without a final investigation report, here is a look at the key developments that have unfolded over the past year.
Flight AI171 departed Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1.38 pm on June 12, 2025. It was bound for London Gatwick. Seconds after take-off, the aircraft issued a mayday call before communications were lost. Flight tracking data showed the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner climbed to an altitude of about 625 feet before crashing into the BJ Medical College hostel complex in Meghaninagar.
Of the 242 people on board, 241 were killed. Nineteen people on the ground also died after the aircraft struck the hostel buildings and canteen. Another 67 people were injured. British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh was the sole survivor. The crash was also the first fatal accident involving a Boeing 787 Dreamliner since the aircraft entered commercial service in 2011.
A month after the crash, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released a preliminary report that immediately became the focus of intense debate.
The report found that both engine fuel control switches moved from the "RUN" position to "CUTOFF" within seconds of take-off, cutting fuel supply to the aircraft's engines. Although the switches were subsequently moved back to the run position, the aircraft was unable to recover before crashing.
The report also revealed a brief cockpit exchange in which one pilot asked the other why the fuel had been cut off, while the second pilot replied that he had not done so. The AAIB did not determine whether the switches were moved deliberately, accidentally, or because of a technical malfunction.
Notably, the preliminary report did not recommend any action against Boeing or engine manufacturer GE Aerospace and did not identify a definitive cause for the crash.
The cockpit recording prompted widespread speculation that one of the pilots may have intentionally or inadvertently moved the switches. Pilot associations, aviation experts and family members of the crew strongly opposed the theory and called it premature conclusions.
The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) repeatedly urged investigators to avoid focusing solely on the alleged "pilot suicide theory" and instead examine the aircraft's systems, software and electrical architecture. Captain Sumeet Sabharwal's family also challenged suggestions that pilot action caused the crash and sought an independent investigation into alternative explanations.
The controversy deepened after reports emerged citing assessments by some US officials that the cockpit conversation appeared consistent with pilot action. The AAIB responded by cautioning against drawing conclusions before the investigation was complete.
As scrutiny of the pilots intensified, several aviation experts and safety advocates argued that technical failures had not been adequately examined. According to a report published in the Frontline, engineers and experts who spoke to the publication raised questions about AAIB’s own account of what happened to the engines. According to their analysis, the relight sequence described in the preliminary report, in which engine 1 appeared to begin recovering after the fuel switches were cycled back to the run position, would have been physically impossible given the aircraft’s speed and altitude at the time of the crash. They said that restarting an engine core would require either ground power, an active auxiliary power unit, or a functioning second engine, none of which were available to AI171 in its final seconds.
Frontline’s reporting also revealed that just fifteen minutes before AI171’s takeoff, multiple critical systems aboard the aircraft, including both power controllers, all three flight control modules, hydraulics, two processors and the fault monitoring system, were all generating faults at the same time. Internal maintenance records reviewed by Frontline also showed that the aircraft had a long history of electrical problems stretching back years, including a fire involving a critical power panel at Frankfurt in 2022 and repeated failures of the same electrical components in the period leading up to the crash.
Many reports published over the past year have also highlighted witness accounts that appeared inconsistent with the pilot-error theory and called for greater scrutiny of the aircraft's systems.
In another development, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in May 2026 asked Boeing to examine a fuel control switch after pilots operating an Air India Dreamliner on a London-Bengaluru flight reported concerns about the way the component moved. The examination was ordered to be conducted in a laboratory setting in the presence of DGCA officials.
Investigators continued examining evidence throughout the year, including aircraft systems, maintenance records, flight recorder data and engine-related components.
According to reports, investigators carried out engine testing in April 2026 and travelled to France as part of examinations involving the aircraft's engine management unit. The engines themselves were also sent to the United States for further analysis.
As the first anniversary approached, reports indicated that examination of the engines in the US remained incomplete. Bloomberg reported that the process could take several more months and that a final report may not be ready until after those studies are concluded.
The first anniversary of the crash was marked by the absence of a final investigation report.
Under International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) guidelines, accident investigators are expected to publish a final report within 12 months where possible. If that is not feasible, an interim statement outlining progress must be released.
On June 12, 2026, the AAIB issued such an interim statement instead of a final report. The bureau said "significant progress" had been made in analysing aircraft systems, flight recorder data, maintenance records, operational records and engine-related evidence.
It said investigators had conducted an extensive examination of technical, operational, organisational and human factors linked to the crash. The evidence collected over the past year was being analysed in a "comprehensive and integrated manner", while additional technical evaluations and specialist examinations would continue wherever necessary.
The AAIB reiterated that the purpose of the investigation was to improve aviation safety rather than assign blame or liability and urged the media and public to avoid speculation while the probe remained underway.
The delay drew attention because India had historically completed most major aviation accident reports within a year. However, investigations into the 2010 Air India Express Mangalore crash and the 2020 Air India Express Kozhikode crash also took longer than 12 months to conclude.
The lack of definitive answers has prompted several lawsuits in India and abroad.
Captain Sabharwal's father and pilot associations had approached courts seeking a broader examination of possible causes and questioning the emphasis placed on pilot actions. In November 2025, the Supreme Court ruled that Captain Sumeet Sabharwal was not responsible for the crash.
In September 2025, families of four victims filed a lawsuit in the United States against Boeing and aircraft parts manufacturer Honeywell, alleging that defects in the aircraft or its components may have contributed to the disaster.
Lawyers representing more than 135 affected families have continued conducting their own reviews of technical evidence while awaiting the AAIB's final findings. Following the interim statement issued on the anniversary, aviation lawyer Mike Andrews, who represents many of those families, said it contained no new factual or technical information about the cause of the crash.
Air India and the Tata Group announced compensation of Rs 1.25 crore for each victim's family, including Rs 1 crore in ex gratia assistance and Rs 25 lakh in interim relief.
According to the airline, interim compensation has been paid to 96% of families of those who died, while 91% have received the ex gratia payment. Air India also said that 94% of people injured on the ground have received either interim or final compensation.
However, compensation became a point of controversy after some families alleged they were being pressured to sign legal waivers while accepting settlements. Among those raising concerns was the daughter of former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who was among those killed in the crash.
Air India rejected the allegations and said there was no deadline for accepting compensation. The airline said families were free to wait for the investigation's findings before deciding whether to accept settlement offers and maintained that compensation documents were intended only to finalise claims rather than protect manufacturers or third parties from liability.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, seated in 11A, remains the only person to survive the crash.
He escaped through an opening in the damaged aircraft after impact. While his physical injuries were relatively minor, the emotional toll has been immense. Ramesh lost his brother in the disaster and has reportedly continued to receive counselling and medical support while coping with trauma, grief and sleeplessness.
Reports published around the anniversary said Air India had paid him compensation of £21,500.
Ahead of the anniversary, the Gujarat government unveiled a redevelopment blueprint worth more than Rs 547 crore for the BJ Medical College campus. The plan involves demolishing structures damaged in the crash and constructing a Paraplegia and Spine Hospital, a rehabilitation centre, a physiotherapy college, new hostel facilities, a canteen and a NABL-standard Food and Drugs laboratory.
The project also includes accommodation for hundreds of students and residential units for married postgraduate students who were displaced by the disaster. State officials have said the redevelopment is intended to transform a site associated with tragedy into a major centre for healthcare, rehabilitation and medical education.
Families of victims gathered in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2026, for prayer meetings, memorial events and candlelight vigils to mark one year since the crash.
Yet the question that emerged in the immediate aftermath of the disaster remains unanswered. Investigators know that both engines lost fuel supply seconds after take-off. What remains unclear is why it happened.
