The Air India 171 Mystery: What We Know (And Don't Know)

We Read the Report 📋 Now We Have More Questions ⁉️

The preliminary report on Air India Flight 171's tragic crash went public on Friday. Over the weekend, speculation ran wild. In the past few hours, countless hypotheses have emerged all because we have virtually no information beyond one stark technical fact.

The report answers one key question, but raises many more.

What happened is clear: On June 12, 2025, just seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad, both fuel control switches in the Boeing 787's cockpit moved from "RUN" to "CUTOFF" within one second of each other. The engines starved of fuel, the aircraft lost power, and despite attempts to restore the switches to "RUN," there wasn't enough time for engine restart. 241 of 242 people aboard died, along with 19 on the ground.

Timeline of the Final Moments

According to the preliminary report, here's what happened in those critical seconds:

• 08:07:33 GMT: Aircraft cleared for takeoff from runway 23

• 08:08:42: Aircraft reaches maximum speed of 180 knots; both engine fuel switches abruptly move to "CUTOFF"

• 08:08:47: Engines lose power; Ram Air Turbine (RAT) deploys for emergency hydraulics

• 08:08:52: Engine 1 fuel switch returned to "RUN"

• 08:08:54: APU inlet door begins to open (auto-start initiates)

• 08:08:56: Engine 2 fuel switch also moved to "RUN"

• 08:09:05: Pilot transmits "MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY"

• 08:09:11: Final data recorded; aircraft hits the ground

Just 29 seconds from fuel cutoff to impact. Despite the crew's efforts to restore power, there simply wasn't enough time or altitude for engine restart.

What remains deeply confusing: Why those switches moved?

The cockpit voice recorder captured one pilot asking the other, "Why did he cut off ?" The response: "I didn't do it." This exchange is haunting and tells us almost nothing definitive. See below how the fuel control switches works on the Boeing B787:

What We Can Rule Out

The report does allow us to eliminate some early theories. Initial speculation after seeing the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) deploy immediately after liftoff suggested possible flap retraction issues, but the timeline shows the RAT deployed in direct response to engine power loss, not aerodynamic problems.

The report found no evidence of fuel contamination, and notably, provides no recommendations to Boeing or GE (the engine manufacturer). This absence of manufacturer advisories suggests investigators haven't identified systemic aircraft or engine defects at this stage.

What We Don't Know (Almost Everything)

The preliminary report is doing exactly what it's supposed to do—establish basic facts about what happened mechanically. But it provides virtually no insight into the crucial question of causation.

We don't know if this was mechanical failure, human error, intentional action, or something else entirely. The report doesn't explore motivations, doesn't analyze the sequence of events leading to the switch activation, and doesn't provide context about crew actions or aircraft behavior in the moments before.

This isn't a criticism, preliminary reports are meant to be factual, not investigative. But it means we're left with a stark technical fact (fuel switches moved to "CUTOFF") and almost no understanding of why.

The haunting cockpit exchange ("Why did he cut off the fuel?" / "I didn't do it") tells us the pilots themselves were confused, but even that fragment raises more questions than answers.

At this stage, speculation isn't just premature, it's meaningless. We simply lack the investigative depth, technical analysis, and contextual information needed to understand what really happened in that cockpit.

The final report, due within 12 months, will hopefully provide answers. Until then, families mourn, investigators dig deeper, and the aviation world grapples with a tragedy that, for now, defies simple explanation.

What are your thoughts?

What do you make of it? Does this preliminary data point you toward a possible explanation or raise even more questions? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Was it a technical glitch, accidental switch movement, or something more deliberate? Hit reply, share your theory, or ask a question—I read every message. Let’s try to make sense of this together.

For those interested in digging into the technical details, here is the link to the full preliminary report.

Pilot Nick

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