Investigation Summary
The aircraft departed Runway 23 at Ahmedabad for a long-haul flight to London. Less than 60 seconds into the flight, the aircraft struggled to maintain a positive rate of climb. Witnesses reported seeing the aircraft at an unusually high pitch angle before it banked sharply and descended rapidly. The Dreamliner struck the upper floors of a nearby medical college, causing a massive post-impact fire. Investigators are currently analyzing the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) to determine if the crash was caused by a weight and balance error, a flight control malfunction, or an uncontained engine failure.
Final Conclusions
The investigation is ongoing. Preliminary data suggests a loss of control during the initial climb phase. This event is significant as it represents the first fatal hull loss in the history of the Boeing 787 fleet since its entry into service in 2011.
Video Analysis
Air India Flight 171 Crash Analysis — A detailed look at the tragic crash of Air India 171 in Ahmedabad, the first fatal accident involving a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Watch on YouTube ↗If playback is blocked, the owner has disabled embedding — use the link above.
Systems & Failure Modes
GEnx-1B Engines
The powerplants are being examined for signs of power loss or uncontained failure during the climb.
Flight Control Electronics (FCE)
The fly-by-wire system logic is under review to see if any erroneous sensor data caused the pitch-up upset.
Weight and Balance System
Investigators are verifying the cargo manifest and fuel distribution to rule out a center of gravity (CG) shift.
Interesting Facts
- 01First fatal accident involving a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
- 02The crash resulted in 241 fatalities among the 242 occupants on board.
- 0319 people on the ground were killed when the aircraft struck a medical college.
- 04The aircraft was less than one minute into its flight to London Gatwick.
- 05The Boeing 787-8 involved was a relatively new airframe in the Air India fleet.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Boeing 787 Fleet Inspection
Boeing issued a multi-operator message (MOM) advising airlines to perform a one-time check of flight control cable tension and sensor calibration.
DGCA Operational Review
The Indian DGCA has mandated a review of all long-haul takeoff performance calculations for Air India's 787 fleet.