AI 171 Crash: Fuel Cutoff and a Fatal Plunge

On a June morning, Air India flight AI171 lifted off from Ahmedabad, bound for London. The aircraft was a Boeing 787 Dreamliner — among the most advanced long-haul jets in service. But less than a minute after takeoff, the plane crashed. Two hundred and sixty people were killed. Only one survived. It was India’s deadliest air disaster in nearly three decades.

Now, a preliminary investigation points to a chilling cause: fuel to both engines was cut off just after takeoff. The engines lost thrust. The plane had neither the altitude nor the time to recover.

What happened in those final seconds? Was it a technical failure or human error?

Guest: Jagriti Chandra, Special Correspondent at The Hindu covering aviation

Host: Anupama Chandrasekaran

Produced and edited by Jude Francis Weston

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