New Delhi: Forty-eight hours after the Air India flight 171 crash in Ahmedabad, the Civil Aviation Ministry Saturday announced a two-directional investigation into the incident—a technical probe is being carried out by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), while a high-level committee has been set up to probe all theories surrounding the crash. The committee is expected to submit its findings within 3 months.
Addressing a press conference, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu added that the authorities will also extend the surveillance into all Air India’s Boeing 787 fleet, as per the directions of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation Friday. Of the 34 Dreamliners in Air India’s fleet, eight have already undergone inspection.
Speaking to the media, Samir Kumar Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, also confirmed the timeline of the crash—the flight took off on schedule at 1.39 pm, but within seconds, a Mayday call was issued as the aircraft began losing altitude after reaching 650 feet. Attempts by air traffic control to re-establish contact received no response. By 1:40 pm, the plane had crashed into Meghaninagar, just 2 km from the airport.
The aircraft, before the accident, had flown from Paris to Delhi and then Ahmedabad.
Of the 242 people on board the London-bound Boeing 787-8 aircraft from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport—including crew members—241 were killed in the crash. The overall death toll has risen to 270, as the aircraft crashed into the BJ Medical College hostel mess, claiming additional lives on the ground.
At 5 pm Friday, the Black Box was recovered from the roof of the hostel mess.
The process of DNA extraction, profiling, and matching is currently underway in Gujarat. Naidu told ThePrint that Air India has also been directed to expedite the disbursal of insurance to the families of the deceased.
“We have asked to ensure that the process is smooth for families,” the minister said.
He added that the investigation started on day 1. “The Black Box will provide in-depth insight into what happened moments before the plane crash,” he said, adding that things have moved faster than what was initially expected.
The runway was closed at 2.30 pm Thursday following the incident, and reopened for other flights by 5.00 pm, ministry officials said. They added that all senior officials had reached the site within 3 hours of the crash, and the fire was nearly fully contained by 5.00 pm.
“The Gujarat government has deployed response teams which are actively trying to rescue whatever is possible to cut down the fire and remove debris, and get bodies as soon as possible. The AAIB team immediately sprung into action,” the Naidu said.
The dual-track probe
Speaking about the probe, Naidu said that the technical investigation by AAIB is underway, and the process of decoding the Digital Flight Video Recorder has begun. He added that the AAIB’s investigation will be conducted by a multidisciplinary team, which will include medical and forensic experts.
Meanwhile, on the second front, for the first time ever, a high-level committee has been formed—which will submit its findings within 3 months—to investigate all possible theories surrounding the crash, review standard operating procedures (SOPs), safety norms and come up with guidelines to prevent such incidents in the future.
This committee will function under the chairmanship of the Union Home Secretary and will include officials from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Indian Air Force, as well as the Gujarat Home Department, the State Disaster Response Authority, and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. It will also include members of the Bureau of Civil Aviation, Special Director of the Intelligence Bureau as well as other experts to deliver their expertise as deemed necessary in order to provide a ‘holistic’ viewpoint.
The committee is expected to meet Monday.
Following the press conference, Air India in a post on X said that it was “in the process of completing the one-time safety checks directed by the Indian aviation regulator, DGCA”.
“These checks are being carried out on the Boeing 787 fleet as they return to India, before being cleared for their next operations. Air India has completed such checks on nine of the Boeing 787 aircraft and are on track to complete this process for the remaining 24 aircraft within the timeline provided by the regulator. Some of these checks could lead to higher turnaround time and potential delays on certain long-haul routes especially those to airports with operating curfews…,” it added.
#ImportantUpdate
Air India is in the process of completing the one-time safety checks directed by the Indian aviation regulator, DGCA. These checks are being carried out on the Boeing 787 fleet as they return to India, before being cleared for their next operations. Air India has…
— Air India (@airindia) June 14, 2025
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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