Air India crash: Airline says one engine on plane was new as damaged black box to be sent to US for analysis

Indian aviation regulator finds no major safety flaws in Air India Dreamliners but flags maintenance and coordination issues

British sole survivor of Air India crash carries his brother's coffin at funeral

The Air India plane that crashed last week had one new engine installed in March this year, while the other was last serviced in 2023 and wasn’t due for maintenance until December, according to the airline’s chairperson N Chandrasekaran.

India will send the black box from the crashed Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner to the US for analysis after it sustained “heavy damage”, The Economic Times has reported, citing an internal source.

More than 200 victims of the 12 June crash have been identified through DNA testing, Indian authorities said yesterday.

Investigators probing the crash have found that the aircraft’s emergency power system was likely active just before impact.

The Wall Street Journal reported that this possibly suggested an engine or hydraulic failure during takeoff, a rare event in commercial aviation.

Air India is cutting its international wide body operations by 15 per cent for a few weeks due to safety inspections.

Families in India with concerns can call Air India on 1800 5691 444. Those outside India can call the British Foreign Office on 020 7008 5000.

Key Points

• India to send black box from crashed Air India to US for analysis
• Air India chairperson says crashed plane had clean engine history
• More than 200 Air India crash victims identified
• Air India cutting widebody international operations by 15% for few weeks
• Emergency power was likely active before the crash - report

[19 June 2025 18:00 · Maroosha Muzaffar]

Investigators not ruling out possibility of sabotage in Air India crash - report

Multiple agencies, including the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), Gujarat Police, India’s aviation regulator DGCA, and Airports Authority of India, are examining whether sabotage could have played a role in the Air India crash on 12 June, The Times of India reported.

Investigators have questioned all personnel involved in the aircraft’s pre-departure operations and seized mobile phones of key staff who cleared the aircraft for take-off.

File. Air India flight AI171, bound for London carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board a Boeing 787-8 aircraft, crashed minutes after take-off in the Meghaninagar area of Ahmedabad

CCTV footage from the airport has also been collected, with officials confirming that the possibility of sabotage is not being ruled out, the outlet reported.

[19 June 2025 19:00 · Maroosha Muzaffar]

Brit survivor of Air India crash says he feels ‘terrible’ he couldn’t save his brother

The sole survivor, British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, described his survival as a "miracle" but expressed profound regret for not being able to save his brother, Ajay.

Mr. Ramesh, who was seated in 11A near an emergency exit, recounted his unsuccessful attempt to secure seats next to his brother on the flight.

Read more here:

[19 June 2025 20:00 · Maroosha Muzaffar]

UK student missed doomed Air India flight by minutes

[19 June 2025 21:00 · Maroosha Muzaffar]

Air India chairperson says crashed plane had clean engine history

Air India chairperson N Chandrasekaran has said that the Boeing 787 Dreamliner that crashed last week had a clean engine history.

In an interview with Times Now, he said that the right engine was newly installed in March this year, and the left was last serviced in 2023.

The aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, killing 241 people on board and about 30 on the ground.

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the emergency power system was likely activated on flight AI171 before the crash, implying that an engine or hydraulic failure occurred during takeoff.

[19 June 2025 22:00 · Maroosha Muzaffar]

Air India faces turbulence as plane crash prompts deeper checks and disruptions

Air India faces fresh turbulence following last week’s fatal crash as additional safety inspections on its Dreamliner fleet lead to flight delays, cancellations and growing passenger anxiety.

Read more here:

[19 June 2025 23:00 · Maroosha Muzaffar]

Indian canteen worker's hopes dashed, no second miracle in air crash

Ravi Thakor had been hoping his mother and two-year old daughter had escaped just before an Air India jet crashed into the building they were in.

A week after one of the world's worst aviation disasters killed more than 270 people in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, Thakor's hopes were dashed when doctors matched his DNA on Wednesday with the remains of his mother Sarla and daughter Aadhya.

A canteen worker in a college hostel, Thakor and other family members had left the hostel around 30 minutes before Air India's Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft crashed into the building.

Sarla had stayed back, cooking and looking after Aadhya, who was asleep. Thakor and his wife Lalita searched for them in hospitals and the morgue after the crash. After not finding them for days, they said they were hoping for a “second miracle”, referring to the lone passenger aboard the plane who survived the disaster.

On Thursday, the dead bodies were handed over to Thakor's family for the final rites.

“We are going to cremate my mother and daughter. It is very difficult for me to say anything right now, but at least we know what happened to them,” Thakor said, struggling to speak.

At least 211 DNA samples had been matched, and 189 dead bodies handed over to families, Rakesh Joshi, the medical superintendent at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital told reporters on Thursday.

The dead included 241 people on board the plane and at least 30 on the ground.

-Reuters

[20 June 2025 00:00 · Maroosha Muzaffar]

Investigators not ruling out possibility of sabotage in Air India crash - report

Multiple agencies, including the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), Gujarat Police, India’s aviation regulator DGCA, and Airports Authority of India, are examining whether sabotage could have played a role in the Air India crash on 12 June, The Times of India reported.

Investigators have questioned all personnel involved in the aircraft’s pre-departure operations and seized mobile phones of key staff who cleared the aircraft for take-off.

File. Air India flight AI171, bound for London carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board a Boeing 787-8 aircraft, crashed minutes after take-off in the Meghaninagar area of Ahmedabad (EPA)

CCTV footage from the airport has also been collected, with officials confirming that the possibility of sabotage is not being ruled out, the outlet reported.

[20 June 2025 01:00 · Maroosha Muzaffar]

He flew home to bury his father. The Air India crash took his life

Inside a modest two-bedroom apartment in India’s Ahmedabad, Ravina Daniel Christian clutches the edge of her tear-soaked scarf. The home is crowded with relatives but the only voice that carries through the room is hers – spilling with loss.

Just 15 days ago, she buried her husband.

On 12 June, her 30-year-old son Lawrence Daniel Christian, who had come home from London to perform the last rites of his father, was killed in the catastrophic Air India crash that has claimed at least 270 lives.

Read the piece by Namita Singh here: