An Air India pilot undergoing Boeing 787 conversion training was found unconscious in his hotel room in Vasant Kunj, New Delhi, and later declared dead. Police have ruled out foul play and are conducting inquest proceedings. Air India has expressed deep sadness and is supporting the pilot's family.
Air India will train its pilots in Singapore for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, due for delivery from December. The move is sparking a protest from one of its pilots' unions, on promotion issues.
'A lot of people feel there is pressure on the AAIB not to go against Boeing or GE -- both enormous American companies.' 'If the AAIB implicates Boeing or GE, it will impact their sales.' 'If their sales are impacted, jobs are lost in the United States. No government would willingly do that.'
Air India Group has accumulated losses of about Rs 47,821 crore since its takeover, leaving its prolonged transformation among the biggest unfinished projects of N Chandrasekaran's tenure.
Air India Group anticipates the delivery of 50-60 new aircraft within the next 18 months, with its ambitious transformation programme progressing despite global challenges like supply chain issues and geopolitical tensions, according to Chief Commercial Officer Nipun Aggarwal.
'... when the process isn't transparent, people will naturally raise questions. 'The AAIB's own press release says they had the black boxes by June 16.' 'Why wasn't decoding initiated until the 24th? What were they waiting for?'
Addressing close to 700 employees and the leadership team across the Air India headquarters and Air India Training Academy in Gurugram, Chandrasekaran urged them to stay on course, terming the accident the most "heartbreaking" crisis of his career.
The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has expressed concerns over the preliminary investigation report on the Air India Boeing 787 plane crash, calling it premature and irresponsible to assign blame before a thorough investigation.
Aviation regulator DGCA has issued four show cause notices to Air India for various violations related to cabin crew rest and duty norms, cabin crew training rules and operational procedures, a month after the airline made certain voluntary disclosures to the watchdog.
Speaking about the building in which the plane crashed, the eyewitness said, "It is a residential building, doctors live there."
Events from mid-2025 to early 2026 exposed deeper systemic concerns for India's aviation safety architecture.
A timeline of events related to the investigation of the Air India Boeing 787 crash in Ahmedabad, including investigation initiation, black box recovery, and safety measures taken.
In an internal communication to the employees, he also said that when Tata Sons took over Air India, ensuring the safety of its passengers was its first and foremost priority and "there was no compromising on it."
Pilots typically operate the fuel control switches during two key phases: At engine start-up on the ground and during engine shutdown after landing.
Pilots' grouping ALPA-India on Thursday said the crew of the crashed AI 171 flight made every possible effort to protect the passengers onboard and they deserve respect, not unfounded character judgements.
The Ahmedabad airport cancelled flights post the crash before resuming limited flights in the evening.
Air India CEO Campbell Wilson addresses the preliminary report on the Ahmedabad plane crash, stating no mechanical or maintenance issues were found with the aircraft. He urges against premature conclusions as the investigation continues.
Aviation expert Captain Mohan Ranganathan claims human error led to the Air India plane crash and calls for more transparency in the AAIB's preliminary report.
'Who tried engine relight?' 'If the first officer was the one flying at takeoff, the captain may have taken control immediately post-thrust loss.' 'But the AAIB report doesn't clarify any of this.'
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has urged restraint in speculating about the cause of the Air India plane crash, emphasizing that the investigation is ongoing and premature narratives should be avoided.
The truth about what triggered the fatal crash of the Dreamliner should not only help bring the guilty to book, but also outline the future course of action in aviation safety, notes Nivedita Mookerji.
The Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (ICPA) defends the crew of the crashed AI 171 flight, rejecting insinuations of pilot suicide and calling for a fair investigation.
Air India's CEO defends the fitness of pilots and aircraft after a preliminary report into the crash of flight AI171 raised questions. He urged against premature conclusions as the investigation continues.
'A Mayday at 600-800 feet followed by descent to 450 feet suggests the pilot still had control.'
'In 50 seconds, the pilots were fighting drag, trying relight, throttling up and avoiding obstacles.' 'They had neither height nor speed. There was no margin.'
Of these, as many as seven are Level-1 violations, which are considered critical safety risks and require immediate corrective action by the air operator, they said.
'A few answers for the reason of the crash will be known -- whether it was a technical fault, design issue, human error etc.'
'If anything happened out of the normal, there would be instantaneous ECAM, EICAS warnings, the master caution or master warnings going off.' 'It would be like a Christmas tree in the cockpit if things start going wrong.'
'It is most pertinent to note that in over 25 years of flying, Captain Sabharwal had not had a single incident or accident-causing fatalities or otherwise'
'The overall well-being of the pilots should be at the top of any airline's agenda in such situations.'
'Visualise those 15 to 18 seconds: Fully loaded aircraft, pilot manually controlling with both hands (no autopilot immediately after takeoff), looking forward while switches are behind.'
Facing disruptions due to non-availability of crew, Vistara on Sunday announced reducing 10 per cent of its capacity or 25-30 flights daily and most of the cancellations are in the domestic network as the Tata Group airline strives to stabilise operations. The full-service carrier is to operate over 300 flights daily in the ongoing summer schedule and witnessed significant disruptions earlier this week as many pilots reported sick, resulting in cancellations of flights. "We are carefully scaling back our operations by around 25-30 flights per day, i.e. roughly 10 per cent of the capacity we were operating.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday suspended Air India's Boeing simulator facility in Mumbai after finding certain alleged lapses during a spot check, a DGCA official said. The pilots, who were scheduled to undergo refresher courses at the Mumbai facility, will now not be able to do so.
'This (crash) is one of those times where there is no concrete explanation yet for what happened. I think that adds to my parents' worry.'
'In multi-pilot operations, no critical switch can be moved without the other pilot's consent.'
All the 12 cabin crew members, including two pilots, on board the ill-fated London-bound Air India flight were killed in the Ahmedabad air crash on Thursday.
Vistara has filed for slots at the Delhi airport and is also training pilots as it prepares for operations. The Delhi-London flight is being planned from mid-August, while services to Paris and Franfkurt would be launched later.
Infighting among pilots might impact Air India's 787 flights
Fifteen of these pilots are expatriates who were hired for flying the Boeing 787 Dreamliners till Air India's crew got trained.
Air India Boeing 787-8 crash in Ahmedabad has brought back all traumatic memories.
