Highlights:
- Interim AAIB report expected ahead of June 12 anniversary
- Investigators still examining possible causes and contributing factors
- Final report delayed due to complexity of probe
- Fuel switch concerns remain central to investigation
INDIAN officials investigating last year’s Air India crash are preparing an interim report instead of a final one ahead of the anniversary of the Boeing 787 accident that killed 260 people, according to a report.
The interim report by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will be “more comprehensive” than the preliminary report released in July last year and will examine possible primary causes and other contributing factors, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
The preliminary 15-page report into the crash, the deadliest aviation disaster in a decade, showed that the Dreamliner’s engine fuel switches flipped almost simultaneously shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad to London on June 12, 2025, cutting fuel supply to the engines.
A cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots supported the view that the captain cut the flow of fuel to the aircraft’s engines, according to an early assessment by US officials reported by Reuters last year. The AAIB had said at the time it was “too early to reach any definite conclusions”.
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By issuing an interim report, Indian authorities will not be required to share findings in advance with the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is involved in the investigation because the aircraft was designed and built in the United States. The NTSB would be allowed to comment on a final report, which could also provide more closure for families of those killed in the crash.
The person told Reuters the final report would not be ready by the anniversary because “it is a very complex investigation and is taking time”. The person added that the interim report still had to be submitted to government authorities and that the timing of the final report remained unclear.
A second source familiar with the matter told Reuters investigators were continuing their work and needed more time.
Under international rules, a final report is expected within a year of an accident. If the investigation is not completed within that period, an interim statement should be issued on each anniversary.
Consultation process
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the UN aviation agency, has a consultation process for draft final reports involving participating states. The process usually includes a 30-day comment period that can be extended to 60 days. The same rules do not apply to interim statements.
ICAO, based in Montreal, and the NTSB declined to comment. Boeing, which is acting as a technical adviser in the investigation, referred Reuters to the AAIB for comment.
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After the Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX crash in March 2019, Ethiopian investigators released a detailed interim report within a year, but the final report was not issued until December 2022, even though the NTSB had received a draft copy in January 2021. The NTSB later publicly criticised parts of the Ethiopian report.
London fuel switch incident
Preparations for the Air India interim statement are taking place alongside another investigation into fuel switches reported as possibly defective on an Air India Dreamliner flight from London to Bengaluru in February this year.
In that case, pilots observed during engine start that the fuel switches did not remain fixed in the “run” position during the first two attempts when light vertical pressure was applied. The switches were stable on a third attempt before takeoff. The pilots reported the issue after landing in India.
Officials from India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), are expected to travel to Seattle in June to observe Boeing testing the switches, which Indian officials described as “sensitive” in confidential emails, Reuters reported last week.
The planned visit has again drawn attention to the switches, which are central to the Air India crash investigation. The first source said some investigators involved in the crash probe were not aware of the DGCA’s planned Seattle visit.
Boeing has said it is “supporting” Air India in the matter, while UK authorities investigating the incident said their review was continuing.
(With inputs from Reuters)
