What’s wrong with the AI 171 crash report

When a big plane crashes, the most important thing is to find out why – so it doesn’t happen again. Sadly, when Air India flight AI 171 crashed on June 12 and all 270 people on board died, the first report that came out didn’t give any real answers.

The group responsible for this is called the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). They had 30 days to share a first report, and they did – but it’s more confusing than helpful.

Here’s what we know: Just three seconds after takeoff, both engines stopped working. That’s shocking. There are only two things that could’ve caused it:

1. The pilots switched off the fuel supply – which would be an unthinkable, deadly mistake. 
2. The switches themselves were faulty – which could mean a design or safety failure in the plane. 

But the report doesn’t clearly say what happened. Instead, it hints that maybe the pilots messed up. It mentions a short conversation between the two – one supposedly asked why the engines were shut off, and the other said, “I didn’t do it.”

We don’t even know their actual words or who said what. The report doesn’t explain what happened before or after, either. So why share this tiny piece of the story in a way that makes the pilots look bad? They’re not here to explain their side, and that’s unfair.

Also, years ago, the US found a problem with fuel switches on some Boeing planes – the kind used on this flight. Those switches sometimes didn’t lock properly. That could be a big clue. The report does mention this, but not very seriously.

Even worse, the report wasn’t signed by anyone, no experienced pilots helped with the investigation, and journalists in other countries saw it before it was shared in India.

So yes, AAIB met its deadline. But the report didn’t help grieving families or make flying safer. It just raised more questions – and that’s not how something this serious should be handled.

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