Sabotage is not discarded in Air India airplane

Indian authorities investigate several hypotheses for the AI171 flight of Air India, which left 260 dead on June 12. Among the possibilities, the Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Murlidhar Mohol, does not rule out sabotage or simultaneous failure of both engines.

This is the first fatal accident with a Boeing 787 since the model went into operation in 2011. Of the victims, 241 were on board and 19 were on the ground. The case has a rare exception: a single survivor, whose version may be decisive to clarify the final moments of the flight.

The minister told the press that all possibilities are being considered, including mechanical failure, human error, poultry collision and deliberate sabotage. Images from security cameras of the last thirty days at Ahmedabad Airport (AMD) are being analyzed, as well as passport records and passenger movements.

Black boxes, cabin voice recorder and flight data recorder were recovered and sent to the new Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) laboratory in Nova Delhi. The decoding will be made entirely in India, with technical support from US and UK agencies. The forecast is that a preliminary report will be released within three months.

At the same time, the Directorate-General for Civil Aviation (DGCA) determined an audit throughout Air India’s 33 Boeing 787 fleet. The action, however, was postponed due to geopolitical tensions between Israel and Iran, which resulted in the closure of air routes in the Middle East.

In addition to the audit, DGCA ordered the removal of three senior employees of the company, responsible for the crew scale, for serious protocol violations. The episode rekindled criticism of social networks about the company’s security standards.

Air India, in turn, said the rugged aircraft and its engines had maintenance up to date. According to N. ChandraSekaran, president of the company, the engines were inspected in March and the previous year, and the riders were experienced.

The minister also mentioned the significant increase in fake bomb threats against Air India flights since October 2024, when the company received ten alerts in two days. Although no time has been completed, the attack on the attack is relevant if it is confirmed that AI171 was the subject of sabotage. This can lead to stricter regulatory changes on how these threats are treated.

While the investigation continues, the company deals with delays in its fleet renewal program. Campbell Wilson, CEO of Air India, said four of the five seat suppliers are delayed, and one of them abandoned the contract, compromising the retrofit schedule within two years. Part of the Boeing 787 fleet has been removed from operation for additional inspections, which may affect the continuity of the plan.

The modernization work was expected to start in July, but, given the current scenario, it is still unclear if the deadlines will be kept.