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 15-page report recommends no action to the Boeing 787-8 and/or the General Electric GEnx-1B engine operators and manufacturers.
"Decoding of the black box is going to give in-depth insight into what happened moments before the plane crash," Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said at a briefing in the national capital.
Air India announced the resumption of its non-stop flights between Delhi and Shanghai (PVG), effective from February 1, 2026, marking Air India's return to mainland China after nearly six years, an official statement by the airline stated.
Air India has confirmed that 241 people on board its London-bound flight were killed when the aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from the Ahmedabad airport on Thursday.
Italian news agency ANSA said the flight was diverted following a request from American Airlines for security checks related to a "suspected bomb threat".
The flight had departed after a delay of almost 3.5 hours as its scheduled departure was at 8.50 am, as per flight tracking website flightradar24.com.
At least 265 bodies were sent to the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital for post-mortem after the crash on Thursday. Of these, only six victims were identified as their faces were intact, inspector Chirag Gosai said.
The process of identification of victims by matching the DNA samples is currently underway, and the bodies will be handed over to their relatives once the process is complete.
An aviation expert suggests investigators should focus on a possible fault in the stabiliser of the crashed Air India flight.
The ministry of civil aviation clarified that, contrary to circulating reports, a video recorder that had been recovered at the crash site was not the DFDR.
'...from the recovered part of the throttle quadrant -- the control panel that manages engine power -- it is hard to say at this stage if the locking mechanism was damaged in any way.'
The specific reasons for the crash of the Boeing 787-8 aircraft flying from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick will be known only after the completion of the detailed probe by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.
At Ahmedabad's Civil Hospital, DNA samples from over 190 relatives are being matched with victims of the Air India crash, a process expected to take up to 72 hours.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has already launched a formal investigation into the incident.
Air India is cooperating with regulators and authorities in the investigation into the Ahmedabad plane crash after the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau released its preliminary report.
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.
Air India reiterated that its priority remains extending assistance to the families.
"When the fuel control switch has to be cut off, the pilot flying will say, fuel control switch left, confirm. So, after the confirmation is made by the second pilot, the pilot monitoring will cut off (the switch).
Air India has been issued nine show cause notices for safety violations in the last six months, according to the civil aviation ministry. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has taken enforcement action on one violation. This follows a fatal accident involving an Air India Boeing 787-8 aircraft.
Father of deceased pilot and Federation of Indian Pilots petition Supreme Court for a court-monitored inquiry into the Air India flight AI171 crash in Ahmedabad.
A preliminary investigation into the Air India Flight 171 crash in Ahmedabad reveals that both fuel switches were cut off before the crash, followed by pilot confusion. The report also indicates that fuel samples were satisfactory and no immediate action is recommended for Boeing 787-8 operators.
Neither anyone from the airline (Air India), nor from the government has contacted them so far, he said.
Speaking about the building in which the plane crashed, the eyewitness said, "It is a residential building, doctors live there."
The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has urged the government to order a judicial probe into the Air India Dreamliner crash that killed 260 people, alleging that the ongoing investigation is "compromised" and should be halted.
The Tata-owned airlines said that 169 Indians, 53 British, 1 Canadian and 7 Portuguese were on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft.
An official expressed hope that the DNA profiling all the victims will be completed by either Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning.
'The tone of the preliminary report creates a narrative towards pilot error. This is wrong.' 'Selected conversation has been divulged. It's not as if the pilots did not speak anything else in the cockpit.'
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.
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.
Both the CVRs and FDRs were recovered within a week after the accident. One was retrieved from a rooftop of the building at the crash site on June 13, and the other from the debris on June 16.
'...rectification has to happen then and there, and that takes additional time.'
'This was textbook emergency response under stress.'
More than 200 passengers on a Singapore-bound Air India plane had a harrowing time at the Delhi airport as they were first deboarded from the aircraft due to cabin temperature issue and were later flown to their destination after a delay of nearly six hours.
Known for his jovial and kind nature, Neeraj left a lasting impression on his neighbours in Akola, which is why the news of his passing devastated the entire town, even though many had not seen him in years.
'Earlier, the NTSB was actively flagging technical issues with Boeing. But now, the narrative is shifting toward 'human error'.' 'That term is often misunderstood -- it could mean pilots, engineers, refueling staff -- anyone.' 'But this framing ('human error') conveniently steers the conversation away from mechanical or design faults.'
A week after the devastating Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad claimed 270 lives, the debris, including the ill-fated aircraft's tail fin, is still lying at the site as investigators looked for clues to establish the exact cause behind the accident, said officials on Thursday.
Airline Pilots' Association of India demands a fair and fact-based probe into the Air India plane crash, rejecting any bias towards pilot error in the investigation.
However, it said that the Delhi airport protocol required the aircraft to be inspected elsewhere before being cleared to land.
The country's largest airline IndiGo on Wednesday reported a 20 per cent decline in profit after tax at Rs 2,176.3 crore for the June quarter as airspace curbs and overall challenging operating environment crimped its bottom line even as the carrier flew 12 per cent more passengers during the period.
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