NEW DELHI: The US-based Foundation for Aviation Safety has accused the investigation team of the Aircraft Accidents Investigation Bureau (AAIB) of being completely unresponsive to its repeated requests to share sensitive and crucial information related to the Air India Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad that killed 260 people.
The AAIB, under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, is working on the final report into the June 12, 2025 crash of AI-171, though no deadline has yet been specified for its submission.
Captain C S Randhawa, president of the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), India’s largest pilot association that has been calling for a transparent probe into the accident, said the foundation had shared a communication with the association detailing its attempts to contact the AAIB.
“The foundation on Saturday (March 14) shared a mail with us detailing all its efforts and inability to reach out to the AAIB,” Randhawa said. The FIP later shared the communication with the media.
Two months ago, the foundation had submitted to the US Senate that it possessed documentary proof of a history of chronic and serious electrical and electronic system failures on the aircraft involved in the crash, registered as VT-ANB.
“These failures have included smoke and fume events, burnt wires, electrical shorts, electrical arcing and electrical fires. For example, the airplane was grounded and the P100 power panel was replaced on three different occasions. P100 is a major power distribution panel that receives power from the left engine and distributes it to various aircraft systems,” the foundation had stated.
It added that failure of the power panel had led to significant damage in the past, prompting redesigns and software updates for improved fault protection on the aircraft.
“The AAIB has not responded to our multiple efforts to voluntarily provide them with this sensitive information. We would expect an open inquiry given the public safety ramifications at stake,” the foundation alleged.
It further claimed that Air India and Boeing had custody of these documents before and immediately after the disaster and accused them of deliberately concealing or withholding information from the AAIB, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the international accident investigation team, in violation of International Civil Aviation Organization standards.
The foundation also said the AAIB’s preliminary accident investigation report released in July 2025 did not mention these documents and that they have not been shared publicly in the nine months since.
“By failing to disclose this information to the public—and by giving no indication that these issues are even being investigated—accident investigators have effectively reinforced the narrative that the pilots were to blame,” the foundation stated.
According to the organisation, its analysis of other Boeing 787 aircraft suggests that the issue may be linked to major aircraft defects rather than pilot error.
“We have analysed several hundred of these documents and have been trying for two months to share our information directly with the NTSB and AAIB. The NTSB’s lead investigator, Michael Hauf, finally reached out to us after US Senate staff intervention,” it said.
The foundation added that its analysis of thousands of aircraft system failure reports involving other 787 aircraft revealed “a disturbing pattern of chronic and serious electrical and electronic defects involving engineering, manufacturing and/or maintenance”.
However, it clarified that individual Boeing employees may have acted improperly and that the allegations were not directed at the entire company.
Ed Pierson, executive director of the foundation, also wrote to Hauf stating that the AAIB had not responded to any of its efforts to share non-public information. He alleged that these documents were not reviewed by either the NTSB or the AAIB before the release of what he described as the “incomplete and misleading” July 2025 preliminary accident report.
He reiterated that the AAIB had shown a complete lack of interest in responding to attempts to share the information.
Neither Air India nor the AAIB responded to queries from this reporter seeking their response.
A Boeing spokesperson said, “Consistent with US law and the UN International Civil Aviation Organization protocol known as Annex 13, we will refer you to the AAIB for any additional information.”