‘Investigation is still in progress’: AAIB rejects Italian report on Air India crash

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), the country’s aviation accident investigator, on Thursday denied reports suggesting that the probe into the Air India Flight AI-171 accident has been finalised.

The bureau said that any such reports are “incorrect and speculative.”

“The investigation is still in progress. No final conclusions have been reached,” AAIB said in a statement. The bureau said that it conducts investigations “strictly in accordance with the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2025, and India’s obligations under ICAO Annex 13.” 

Aircraft accident investigations are technical, evidence-based processes aimed at determining root causes and enhancing safety, the statement added. The bureau further said the preliminary report released earlier “provided factual information available at that stage.”

“The final investigation report, containing conclusions and safety recommendations, will be published upon completion of the investigation in line with established international norms,” the probe body said. 

The clarification comes a day after Italian daily Corriere della Sera, citing two sources, reported that investigators probing the crash of Air India flight 171 in Ahmedabad have concluded that the disaster was not caused by a technical defect but was the result of an “intentional act”. 

A total of 260 people were killed in the crash, one of the worst aviation disasters in the country in decades. However, the Italian newspaper’s account was based on unnamed sources and preliminary interpretations.