Air India crash report delay expected over unfinished engine analysis - Reuters

A final report into a deadly Air India Boeing 787 crash is expected to be delayed past the one-year anniversary on Friday, a source has told Reuters.

A source with knowledge of the matter told the news agency that a need to complete an analysis of the plane's engines was the reason for the probable hold-up.

Air India flight 171, bound for London Gatwick, crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad on 12 June 2025.

The accident, the deadliest air disaster in a decade, killed all but one of the 242 people on board and 19 people on the ground.

Under international rules, a final report is due within a year of an accident; when this is not possible, an interim statement should be issued on each anniversary.

The GE Aerospace-made engines have been at the centre of the probe into the crash, with attention also being directed at potential pilot behaviour.

Investigators conducted engine testing in April and visited France last month as part of an analysis of the engine management unit, the source told Reuters on the condition of anonymity because the information is not public.

A preliminary report released last year showed the 787 aircraft's engine fuel control switches moved almost simultaneously from "RUN" to "CUTOFF," stopping fuel supply to both engines straight after take-off.

In July of last year, a preliminary report included segments of dialogue captured by the cockpit voice recorder in which one of the pilots is heard asking the other why he "cut off".

The other pilot responds that he did not do so.

The 15-page report did not identify which comments were made by the flight's captain and which were made by the first officer.

Read more:
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One of the pilots made a "mayday, mayday, mayday" call just before the crash.

Both pilots were experienced, with around 19,000 flying hours between them, including more than 9,000 on the 787.

The report does not indicate there was any emergency requiring an engine cutoff. It also does not give a conclusion as to how the switches moved.

One of the engines was able to be restarted, but could not reverse the plane's deceleration, the report found.

Sky News reported in February that another Boeing 787 operated by Air India was grounded after reports of a "possible defect" with a fuel control switch.

Paperwork filed by one of the pilots and seen by Sky News alleged that the left fuel control switch slipped from run to cut off when pushed down slightly, rather than locking in its position.

In July, Air India said it had "completed precautionary inspections on the locking mechanism of Fuel Control Switch on all Boeing 787 and Boeing 737 aircraft in its fleet" and "no issues were found".

(c) Sky News 2026: Air India crash report delay expected over unfinished engine analysis - Reuters