Is the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India, seeking to bail out Boeing in its preliminary report released recently despite the top MNC's whistleblower concerns? It would seem so, if the Ministry's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's (AAIB's) preliminary findings into the catastrophic crash of Air India’s Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, registration VT-ANB, which went down shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad on 12 June 2025, killing all 241 on board and 19 on the ground, is any indication.
While the report refrains from assigning any direct blame — in line with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) protocols — its contents strongly suggest that cockpit actions, rather than aircraft or engine failures, were responsible for the accident. However, in light of ongoing concerns raised by whistleblowers about the Boeing 787’s safety and manufacturing integrity, the report may not put all questions to rest.
The report describes how, within seconds of liftoff, both engines shut down after the fuel control switches for Engine 1 and Engine 2 moved from “RUN” to “CUTOFF.” According to the flight data, “Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of 01 sec.” (p. 14) This loss of thrust during initial climb left the aircraft unable to maintain altitude.
Perhaps the most telling evidence comes from the cockpit voice recorder. As recorded in the report, “one of the pilots is heard asking the...
By Daniel Dale, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump made some false claims to the press while meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Monday, including a long-debu...