- Aviation safety group claims Air India 787 had serious technical issues before crash
- The aircraft experienced repeated electrical faults including a severe fire in 2022
- Boeing 787's heavy reliance on electrical systems has caused design and safety concerns
Aviation safety campaigners in the US have claimed that the Air India aircraft which crashed in Ahmedabad in June 2025 had a history of serious technical problems, including a fire, before to the fatal accident. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, operating a flight to London, crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12, killing 260 people on board.
The Foundation for Aviation Safety, a US-based advocacy group, has submitted a report to the US Senate detailing its findings, which it says are drawn from documents it has obtained. The official investigation into the crash is still underway.
787 Aircraft Plagued By Failures
The aircraft involved, registered as VT-ANB, was among the earliest Boeing 787 Dreamliners produced. It first flew in late 2013 and entered service with Air India in early 2014.
The Foundation for Aviation Safety claims that documents show the aircraft experienced system failures from its very first day of commercial service. It states these issues stemmed from “wide and confusing variety of engineering, manufacturing, quality, and maintenance problems throughout its 11-year life.”
According to the campaign group, the reported failures included “circuit breakers repeatedly tripping, electronics/avionics/software faults, wire damage, smoke and fumes, short circuits, loss of electrical current, electrical surges, burning and overheating of power distribution components including a very serious fire.”
In January 2022, the Foundation says the aircraft suffered a fire in its P100 power distribution panel. “Damage was so extensive the entire power panel had to be replaced,” stated the foundation. According to a report in BBC, the panel is one of five that distribute high-voltage power generated by the engines throughout the aircraft.
Electrical Design Under Scrutiny
The Boeing 787 reportedly relies far more heavily on electrical systems than earlier generations of passenger aircraft. As the BBC report says, designers removed many mechanical and pneumatic components and replaced them with lighter electrical systems to improve efficiency.
However, this design approach led to problems early in the aircraft's service life. In 2013, a battery fire on a Japan Airlines-owned Dreamliner resulted in the temporary grounding of the global 787 fleet. The P100 power panel itself had already been redesigned in 2010 following a fire on board a test aircraft.
The Foundation's report has been submitted to the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which held hearings in 2025 into “Boeing's broken safety culture.”
Interim Report Sparked Controversy
India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is leading the official probe into the Ahmedabad crash, with participation from American officials as the aircraft and engines were designed and manufactured in the US.
In July 2025, the AAIB released a preliminary report, which is a standard step intended to summarise known facts rather than draw conclusions. But one section of the 15-page document prompted controversy.
The report said that moments after take-off, the aircraft's fuel control switches were moved from the “run” to the “cut-off” position. These switches are normally used only during engine start-up and shutdown. The change would have cut fuel supply to the engines, causing a rapid loss of thrust. Though the switches were moved back, it was too late to avert the crash.
The report added, “In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so.”
This account led some commentators in the US and India to suggest pilot error as a cause of the accident. A backlash followed from lawyers representing victims' families, aviation safety campaigners, a pilots' association and technical experts in both countries. They said that the focus on the pilots may be misleading and has shifted attention away from the possibility of a technical malfunction, said the BBC report.
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