Air India crash : facing the complexity of engine analysis

Indian authorities will not be able to meet the international one-year deadline, set for this Friday, June 12, 2026, to deliver the final findings on the Air India Boeing 787 crash that claimed the lives of 260 people shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025, becoming the worst air disaster of the decade.

In accordance with international civil aviation protocols, which require the publication of a provisional statement on each anniversary in case of delay, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau of India (AAIB) is preparing to publish a report this week. A progress report detailing the reasons for this setback, primarily linked to the complexity of the ongoing technical investigations at GE Aerospace in the United States.

The meticulous examination of the engines is proving particularly lengthy due to the scarcity of sites worldwide equipped with the specific tools required for such a disassembly, a crucial step in understanding why the fuel control switches moved almost simultaneously from the « RUN » to « CUTOFF » positions just after takeoff, abruptly cutting off fuel to both engines, as revealed in last year’s preliminary report.

Faced with this highly technical case, the interim investigation trajectory of which had already been leaked by Reuters last month, investigators are now counting on the publication of the final report within three months, once the American expert analyses have been definitively completed.