Just a few seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad on 12 June, Air India Flight AI171, bound for London Gatwick, crashed into a residential area, killing 241 of the 242 people on board as well as dozens on the ground. The disaster involved Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, long regarded as the crown jewel of the aviation firm’s commercial fleet and a plane that, until now, had a flawless safety record.

While the official investigation remains ongoing, India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) published its preliminary report on 8 July.

The report reveals that both engines lost thrust approximately three seconds after takeoff, when the fuel control switches transitioned from ‘run’ to ‘cutoff’ – a highly atypical phenomenon given that the switches require deliberate action and have safety-lock mechanisms.

Fourteen seconds later, fuel flow to the engines was restored, but by then the aircraft had already lost critical speed and was unable to recover. Cockpit audio from the plane’s retrieved blackbox captured a tense exchange: one pilot asked the other why he cut off, with the other replying that he did not.

To date, no mechanical fault has been identified in the engine or fuselage of the aircraft – although this is a possible cause. The preliminary report doesn’t assign blame to any party, leaving the cause of the switch movements under investigation, with both human error and technical fault under active consideration.

Faces behind the numbers

The crash of AI171 left behind grief, stories cut short and one rare survivor.

Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, the pilot, was a veteran with more than 15,000 hours of flying experience. Days before the crash, he had told family that he planned to retire in order to care for his elderly father. First officer Clive Kundar had an additional 3,400 flight hours and was the pilot flying AI171, while Sabharwal monitored.

Boeing under scrutiny

While investigators seek to identify what went wrong with AI171, others ask whether this was another example of a deeper, longer-running issue within Boeing – a US company that supplies 45% of the world’s commercial aircraft. The company is no stranger to scrutiny.

Boeing’s troubled story took a turn for the worse with the disasters affecting its 737 Max aircraft in 2018 and 2019, which together claimed the lives of 346 people on Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines flights. Investigations revealed that a faulty software system had repeatedly forced both planes into fatal dives – a flaw Boeing failed to properly test or disclose to pilots.

In 2021, Boeing agreed to pay more than $2.5bn from a settlement with the US Department of Justice, including $500m to the victims’ families and $243m dollars in criminal penalties. The company’s market value fell by around $60bn during the crisis as hundreds of aircraft orders were cancelled around the world.

Internal messages released during the inquiry revealed a toxic culture.

Another said they would never let their family fly on the Max.

Since then, Boeing has undergone US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) audits, whistleblower complaints and congressional testimony for repeated problems concerning safety. While it continues to generate strong revenue from its defence and space contracts, Boeing’s commercial aircraft division remains under immense pressure following a rocky start to the 2020s.

What experts are saying

International experts have weighed in, offering their own take on the preliminary report on the crash. One noted that AAIB was considering the possibility of an intentional act, further complicating the narrative beyond mechanical failure or human error.

Indian pilots’ unions and veteran aviators have also pushed back, saying parts of the report unfairly hint at blaming the pilots. They argue that investigators haven’t fully explored other possible causes, such as software malfunction. Critics also point to inconsistencies in the reported flight hours of the crew and question the accuracy of the findings presented by the AAIB.

Indian authorities continue working on the final report, which could take months or even years before all answers come to light.

Is air travel unsafe?

For Boeing and others, rebuilding trust will take more than memos or public statements. It will take a recommitment to the millions of people who step on to their aircraft every day and trust the system will keep them safe. The industry cannot continue to approach safety as a checklist item.

Despite all this, it is also true that air travel remains the safest form of transportation in the world. According to IATA’s 2024 safety report, the global accident rate was just one fatal accident per 880,000 flights, and the fatality risk among those very rare accidents stood at a mere 0.06%.

So, the question is no longer just what failed on that ill-fated June afternoon in Ahmedabad. It is what comes next for aviation as a whole, the industry that carries the world.