Air India Crash: AAIB Probes All Angles, Including Sabotage, Report Expected in 3 Months

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu) : Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol has said that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is investigating all angles, including sabotage, in the Air India AI 171 crash and a report is expected in three months. Speaking to NDTV at the Pune chapter of the 'Emerging Business Conclave', Mohol said all angles are being investigated by the AAIB, including any possible possibility of sabotage.

CCTV footage is being reviewed and multiple agencies are involved." The Union minister described the crash, which claimed over 270 lives, as a "rare case". "It has never happened that both engines have shut down simultaneously," he said, referring to claims by experienced pilots and experts. The Union minister further said failure of both engines could be the cause of the crash. According to Mohol, the black box of Flight AI 171 has been recovered and is in the custody of the AAIB and the investigation will be conducted entirely within the country. "These devices will not be sent outside the country for in-depth evaluation," he said.

Last week, the central government had said that data from the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) recovered from the crash site of Air India's Boeing Dreamliner 787 aircraft in Ahmedabad is being analyzed. A statement issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation said that all actions taken so far related to the black box have been taken in a timely manner in full compliance with domestic laws and international obligations. After the unfortunate crash of Air India flight AI-171, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) immediately started the investigation and a multi-disciplinary team has been constituted on 13 June 2025 as per the prescribed norms. This team, constituted as per international protocols, is headed by the Director General of AAIB and includes an aviation care expert, an ATC officer and a representative of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), a US government investigation agency of manufacturing and design and is required for this investigation. Both the CVR and FDR were recovered. The first of these was found on June 13, 2025 from the roof of the building at the accident site and the second was found from the debris on June 16, 2025.

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