Air India flight crash: fuel cut caused crash, only one passenger survived

India’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch has released a preliminary report into the crash of Air India Flight 171, which crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad to London on June 12, 2025. The cause of the crash was a sudden loss of fuel to both engines. As a result, 260 people died, including 241 passengers on the plane and 19 people on the ground. The only survivor was a British man sitting near the emergency exit.

This is reported by Interesting Engineering.

As is known, on June 12, 2025, Air India Flight 171, flying from Ahmedabad (Gujarat, India) to Gatwick Airport in London, crashed due to a fuel cut to both engines, according to a preliminary report by the Indian Air Accidents Investigation Branch.

There were 242 people on board, including 230 passengers (including 52 British, 7 Portuguese and 1 Canadian) and 12 crew members. 241 people on board died, and another 19 people on the ground. The only survivor was a British man from seat 11A, who was sitting near the emergency exit. He managed to climb out of the wreckage on his own, and videos of him have gone viral online.

The report states that three seconds after takeoff, at 13:38:42 local time, both fuel cutoff switches on the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner were turned off from the RUN position to the CUTOFF position with an interval of 1 second. One of the pilots shouted to the other: “Why did you cut the fuel?”, to which he was heard saying: “I didn’t do that.” The aircraft then began to rapidly lose altitude.

One of the pilots managed to send a “Mayday” signal, but there was no response to the air traffic controller’s request for information about the nature of the emergency. Despite an attempt to immediately restore fuel, the altitude was too low and there was not enough time to avoid a disaster.

The investigation has already ruled out other possible causes: weather conditions, poor-quality fuel, bird strikes, technical malfunctions, incorrect flap position, or factory engine defects.

Interestingly, back in 2018, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned about a possible malfunction of fuel shutoff switches, but did not oblige airlines to check these systems, only recommended it.

Air India noted that they did not conduct inspections because it was not mandatory, but remain in full compliance with technical safety requirements.

Representatives from the US and the UK are participating in the investigation, and the aircraft manufacturer, Boeing, expressed its condolences to the families of the deceased and stated its full support for the investigation.

As a reminder, on Thursday, June 12, an Air India plane with more than 200 people on board crashed near the airport in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad. According to police, all 242 people on board, including the crew, died.

It was later revealed that the Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 was operating flight AI171 to London Gatwick Airport. The cause of the crash is not yet known. However, aviation experts and officials have four possible scenarios that could have led to the plane crash almost immediately after takeoff.

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