Ian Kluft ✅✈️🎈🌋"Hundreds feared dead after Air India jet crashes after takeoff" by CNBC - Air India 787-8 crashed on takeoff from Ahmedabad, India on a flight scheduled to London Gatwick. This is the first crash of a 787 Dreamliner. All eyes will be on what cause the investigation finds. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/12/air-india-plane-crashes-at-ahmedabad-in-gujarat.html #aviation #travel #avgeek
"Air India plane crashes in Ahmedabad; Boeing 787-8 with 242 people on board slams into buildings" by @CBSNews - One survivor rescued from Air India #AI171 crash. India will take lead on investigation, with assistance by US NTSB (country of manufacture) and Boeing (manufacturer). https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/air-india-plane-crash-ahmedabad-flight-ai171-to-london-gatwick/ #aviation #travel #avgeek
Air India plane crashes in Ahmedabad; Boeing 787-8 with 242 people on board slams into buildings
Air India flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 carrying 242 people, crashed after taking off from Ahmedabad on its way to London.
Now that I've seen the CNN replay of social media video of the Air India #AI171 crash, it looks to me like takeoff flaps were not set, which would explain insufficient lift leading to the crash. But even if that's the case, the investigation would have to look into what distractions caused such an omission from the pre-takeoff checklist, and find how to prevent such human factors as would cause this horrific accident. #aviation #travel #pilot #avgeek
"Air India black box recovered after crash that killed 241 onboard and others on the ground" by @AssociatedPress - Flight data recorder recovered. This allows investigators to get important answers about the plane's systems, such as engine status and pilot inputs. Search is still on for the voice recorder. https://apnews.com/article/air-india-plane-crash-ahmedabad-survivor-boeing-787-18a1e45cb65bd716d6529b8922cc94b7 #AI171 #AIC171 #aviation #travel #avgeek
"Investigators find cockpit voice recorder from crashed Air India flight" by @BBCNews - In addition to the flight data recorder already recovered, the CVR is the other big item the investigators needed. A technical cause may be fairly quickly found from the black boxes. But it could take months to find the actual root cause if human factors are involved in operation or maintenance of the aircraft, and make recommendations. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce818jlz5mlo #AI171 #AIC171 #aviation #travel #avgeek
"How the Air India crash investigation is unfolding" by @BBCNews - Summary of news up to the recovery of both flight recorders. Many questions people have asked arising from low-resolution cell phone & CCTV videos are undoubtedly also being considered by investigators as they review the aircraft's data and evidence in the wreckage. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gkd555jlko #AI171 #AIC171 #aviation #travel #avgeek
"Fuel switches were cut off before Air India plane crashed, preliminary report says" by @NBCNews - Preliminary report (currently known facts but no conclusions or recommendations) on Air India Flight 171 crash which occurred June 12, 2025 indicates a pilot hit both fuel cutoff switches. Whether inadvertent or intentional is not determined yet. Boeing 787 Dreamliner and GEnx engines are cleared from potential causes of crash. https://www.nbcnews.com/world/asia/fuel-switches-cut-air-india-plane-crashed-preliminary-report-says-rcna218208 #AI171 #AIC171 #aviation #travel #avgeek
"Air India crash probe focuses on actions of plane's captain" by @Reuters - Investigators determined it was the captain who turned off both the fuel cutoff switches on Air India 171. No reason or motive yet. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/new-details-air-india-crash-probe-shift-focus-senior-pilot-wsj-reports-2025-07-16/ #AI171 #AIC171 #aviation #travel #avgeek
Chilly 
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@chillybot @NBCNews Yeah. That doesn't answer the question of inadvertent or intentional. Could be confusion. But if it was intentional then that answer was a lie. We'll have to let the investigation continue its course to find that out.
K.C. Budd@ikluft @chillybot @NBCNews hard to imagine a situation where a pilot inadvertently hits them both, in succession, one second apart from each other.
Possible, but hard to imagine. The timestamps tell a story
@phreakmonkey @chillybot @NBCNews Agreed. The lock mechanism is supposed to prevent accidental cutoff, and both were a second apart. But there's no conclusion to reach without letting the investigation look for other info. It seems to hinge on either existence or absence of motivation for either pilot.
Airplanista 🇺🇦@ikluft Yeah that is my take exactly, Ian. I know modern airliners with autobrakes have a system to know when the weight is on the gear (to activate the autobrakes) but do you know if they would have a system or audible warning if pilots tried to apply takeoff power with no flaps or slats deployed? Seems like something a 787 would have.
This is going to be a very interesting investigation.
@Av8rdan Flaps were only the first thing that look wrong. So many questions. What else was going on that they didn't or couldn't raise the gear?
@ikluft The chance that the highly-trained crew skilled enough to fly a 787 would miss some important takeoff checklist items seems not plausible. One pilot missing something big, sure, but two pilots both missing them?
That leads me to some sort of failure like the panel said flaps and slats were out but they really were not.
Saw a takeoff roll video and it seemed to take for-ever to get off the runway.
@Av8rdan Since it was low enough speed that there was a survivor, undoubtedly the flight data and voice recorders should be quickly recovered and begin answering some of these questions.
John@ikluft Boeing stock price down almost 5% on the Air India news. I sure hope they find it was pilot error and not airplane error, the eight-seven is one of my favorite airplanes and is a joy to fly in.
@Av8rdan Honestly by the engineering of the planes, I expected this to happen first with the A350 (which I refuse to fly on), not 787. A crash just after takeoff will undoubtedly point investigators to look early on at proper takeoff configuration and possible bird strike(s) or FOD ingestion.