AAIB to publish an interim report on Air India crash by June

New Delhi: Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is likely to publish an interim report rather than a final one into the investigation of the fatal crash of an Air India aircraft at Ahmedabad killing 260 people in June last year.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) recommends that the state conducting the investigation should publish a report within a year, but if it is not possible to do so, it shall release an interim statement annually, on each anniversary of the occurrence, detailing the progress of the investigation and any safety issues raised.

A person aware of the development said that a final report will take some time as it requires consultation with stakeholders which in this case will be Boeing, Air India and other investigative agencies like the National Transport Safety Board (NTSB).


53 British nationals died in the crash prompting the United Kingdom’s accident investigator become a part of the case while USA’s National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) is assisting as both the aircraft and engine manufacturer Boeing and General Electric (GE) are US companies

According to the rules of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the state conducting the investigation has to send the final report to the stakeholders and wait for 60 days for their comments.

That process has not yet been started, the person said, adding that the interim report will be detailed and establish a lot of facts on the accident.

AAIB DG GVG Yugandhar didn't respond to requests for comments on the topic.

The preliminary report presented by the AAIB, tasked with probing the accident, said that seconds after takeoff, the fuel control switches of both engines briefly moved from ‘run’ to ‘cut off’, cutting fuel supply and causing a loss of power.

The movement of the fuel control switches allows and cuts fuel flow to the plane’s engines. The report also indicated that both pilots were confused over the change to the switch setting, which caused a loss of engine thrust shortly after take-off.

AAIB hasn't issued any directions for Boeing or the engine maker GE which indicates that it hasn't found any critical issues with the equipment.

The preliminary report has though come under heightened scrutiny with Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) a pilots’ lobby group moving court calling the report biased.