{
  "id": 8528643,
  "title": "Pilots’ Body Presses AAAIB For Deep Electrical Probe In Air India AI-171 Crash Investigation",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/pilots-body-presses-aaaib-for-deep-electrical-probe-in-air-india-ai",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-19T19:46:20.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/pilots-body-presses-aaaib-for-deep-electrical-probe-in-air-india-ai-171-crash-investigation"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has urged the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) to perform a thorough examination of the Boeing 787's electrical and avionics systems in the ongoing investigation into the fatal Air India Flight AI-171 crash. This plea was made in a letter sent to the AAIB's Director General on September 18, less than a month before the final investigation report is expected in October.\n\nThe pilots' association highlighted discrepancies in flight simulator timelines and questioned the correlations with the aircraft's actual behavior. They raised concerns over data derived from Boeing 787 simulator testing conducted for the families' legal representatives. The simulator results suggested that the time between fuel interruption and hydraulic power availability from the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) did not align with the initial official timeline.\n\nThe FIP emphasized that the accurate timing of these events is crucial for understanding the sequence of events leading to the AI-171 crash and for ensuring safety recommendations are based on sound technical evidence. They requested the AAIB to conduct or supervise formal simulator validation exercises to resolve these discrepancies. The association pointed to a potential electrical reverse-voltage pathway triggered by a battery short circuit as a possible cause for the dual fuel switches moving to \"CUTOFF\".\n\nThe FIP also requested a comprehensive review of the accident aircraft's historical maintenance logs, including technical logs, maintenance records, and deferred defects under the Minimum Equipment List. They also asked for scrutiny of the Aircraft Health Monitoring records, ACARS message chronologies, and system performance data. The FIP asked the AAIB to systematically evaluate this material and either validate or rule out its technical analysis.",
  "summary": "The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has appealed to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) to conduct an exhaustive evaluation of the Boeing 787's electrical and avionics architecture as part of the ongoing probe into the fatal Air India Flight AI-171 crash. The latest request comes less than a month before the crash's final investigation report, which is expected in October. Pilots’…",
  "key_points": [
    "Federation of Indian Pilots urges AAIB for deep electrical probe in AI-171 crash investigation.",
    "FIP requests AAIB to conduct simulator validation exercises and review maintenance logs."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}