Mystery of Air India 787 Dreamliner crash: Former pilot questions engine, gear anomaly, hints at cockpit-detected failure

Moments after lifting off from Ahmedabad airport, Air India flight AI 171 plunged into disaster, crashing into a medical college hostel just 1.5 kilometers from the runway. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, en route to London with 242 passengers on board, went down at 1:30 pm in what officials have described as a “serious incident.” Thick smoke and chaos engulfed the scene as emergency services raced to respond, with little known yet about what triggered the crash.

Former pilot Ehsan Khalid offered early insights into what the flight data might reveal. “The Flight Data Recorder, Cockpit Voice Recorder and the ACARS data will tell exactly what may have happened,” he said. Khalid noted that visuals from the scene showed no sign of a mid-air explosion, but rather suggested “a loss of power... which can be due to engine malfunction,” though he stressed it is highly uncommon for both engines to fail simultaneously.

"The pilot gave a mayday call. This means that the failure was seen in the cockpit... They went airborne while combating that failure," he added. Khalid also questioned why the aircraft’s landing gear had not retracted, saying, “Since the landing gear was down, it is possible that a loss of engine was detected beforehand... The biggest question is why the landing gear was not up. The flight was at a height of 600 feet.”

Subhash Goyal, Chairman of the Aviation and Tourism Committee of the Indian Chamber of Commerce, called the crash “very shocking.” He emphasized Air India’s adherence to strict safety checks: “All airlines follow a safety protocol before a plane takes off... the plane was not that old; it had all the latest safety and security features.”

Officials confirmed that the pilot’s mayday call was followed by silence, with no further response to air traffic control. Visuals from the crash site showed smoke billowing from the building, now severely damaged. Emergency teams, including at least two dozen ambulances, rushed the injured to nearby hospitals. Police have cordoned off the area, diverting traffic to manage the growing crowd.

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said he is “personally monitoring the situation” and has ordered all aviation and emergency agencies to act swiftly.

(With inputs from agencies)