NEW DELHI: The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released its preliminary report, late Friday, on the investigation about the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad on June 12.According to the report, “The Engine N1 and N2 began to decrease from their take-off values as the fuel supply to the engines was cut off. In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so.”The AAIB added that “both engines were retrieved from the wreckage site and quarantined at a hangar in the airport.” It further stated, “Components of interest for further examinations have been identified and quarantined.”Additionally, as per the Aircraft Maintenance Program, the last major line maintenance checks—L1-1 and L1-2—were carried out at 38,504:12 hours and 7,255 cycles. The next major check, a D-check, was due in December 2025. The report noted that the left-hand (LH) engine, bearing ESN956174, was installed on May 1, 2025, while the right-hand (RH) engine, ESN956235, was installed on March 26, 2025. On the date of the incident, four Category ‘C’ Minimum Equipment List (MEL) items were active on the aircraft. These were invoked on June 9, 2025, and were valid till June 19, 2025. The MELs pertained to the flight deck door visual surveillance system, the airport map function, the core network, and the flight deck printer.The investigation centres around Air India’s Boeing 787-8 flight AI 171 en route to London Gatwick that crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad last month, killing 260, including 241 onboard the plane. One passenger survived the crash. It was the first time that the best-selling wide-body Dreamliner or Boeing 787 suffered a fatal accident resulting in hull loss.
