By Abhijith Ganapavaram and Allison Lampert
NEW DELHI/MONTREAL, May 26 (Reuters) – Indian officials investigating last year’s deadly Air India crash are preparing an interim report rather than a final one ahead of the anniversary of the Boeing 787 accident that killed 260 people, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
The interim report from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) will be “more comprehensive” than the preliminary report put out last July and will examine possible primary causes and other contributing factors, the person said.
The 15-page preliminary report into the aviation industry’s deadliest disaster in a decade showed the Dreamliner’s engine fuel switches flipped almost simultaneously and starved the engines of fuel shortly after the flight from Ahmedabad to London took off on June 12, 2025.
A cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots supported the view that the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane’s engines, according to U.S. officials’ early assessment reported by Reuters last year. The AAIB said at the time it was “too early to reach any definite conclusions”.
By releasing an interim report, Indian authorities will not be required to share the findings ahead of time with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is participating in the investigation because the aircraft was designed and manufactured in the United States. The NTSB would be allowed to comment on a final report, which could also provide more closure for the crash victims’ family members.
The final report will not be ready by the crash anniversary because “it is a very complex investigation and is taking time,” said the person, adding the interim report still needed to be submitted to government authorities and the timing of a final report remained unclear.
A second source with knowledge of the matter also said investigators were still working on the probe and needed more time. Both sources spoke on condition of anonymity as the internal workings of the investigation are private.
Under international rules, a final report is due within a year of an accident but sometimes investigations take longer, so if that is not completed, an interim statement should be issued on each anniversary.
The AAIB, India’s civil aviation ministry and Air India did not respond to emails seeking comment. AAIB chief GVG Yugandhar also did not respond to calls and messages seeking comment.
CONSULTATION PROCESS
The U.N. aviation agency, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), sets out a consultation process with participating states for draft final reports, with a usual 30-day comment period extendable to 60 days. The same process does not apply to interim statements.
