Air India Plane Crash Report: Seat Malfunction Caused Mishap? No, Viral Claim Is False

A London-bound Air India flight, AI 171, crashed into the hostel of BJ Medical College in Ahmedabad shortly after taking off on June 12, killing 260 people. Following nearly a-month-long-investigation, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) recently published its preliminary report on the incident.

Several social media users now shared a post allegedly detailing the findings of the AAIB preliminary report on the Air India crash, and claiming “Captain’s Seat Slipping During Rotation” as the “root cause” of the mishap. It also elaborates on the purported “mechanical evidence” of the same, and stakeholders’ “response” to the report. Newschecker, however, found the post to be fabricated.

Such posts can be seen here and here. 

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Fact Check/Verification

To investigate the viral claim, Newschecker accessed the AAIB’s preliminary report on the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, and carefully examined its findings. However, we don’t find any mention of “Captain’s seat sliding” in the report, as alleged in the viral post.

The allegation of “wreckage inspection revealing fractured seat locking pins, specifically part number BACB30LN5S02, as the point of failure” was found to be false too. The actual report is devoid of any such information. 

The post further claimed that as the seat slid backward and “captain’s body was thrust rearward, his weight inadvertently pulled the thrust levers into idle…”

Under the ‘Wreckage and Impact’ section, the actual report stated, “The thrust lever quadrant sustained significant thermal damage. Both thrust levers were found near the aft (idle) position. However, the EAFR data revealed that the thrust levers remained forward (takeoff thrust) until the impact.”

We did not find any mention of thrust levers in the ‘Accident Flight’ section which detailed the sequence of events before the crash, proving that the viral claim is false.

After the plane attained its maximum recorded airspeed at about 08:08:42 UTC, the fuel cutoff switches of Engine 1 and 2 transitioned from ‘Run’ to ‘Cut off’ position one after the other with a time gap of one second, the report revealed. 

The cockpit voice recording disclosed that one of the pilots asked the other ‘why did he cut off,’ who responded that he did not do so.

The EAFR (Enhanced Airborne Flight Recorders) data showed that both engines N2 (rotational speed of the high speed spool) values passed below minimum idle speed, and the RAT (Ram Air Turbine) hydraulic pump began supplying hydraulic power at about 08:08:47 UTC.

It further revealed that the Engine 1 fuel cutoff switch transitioned from ‘Cutoff’ to ‘Run’ at about 08:08:52 UTC. Thereafter at 08:08:56 UTC the Engine 2 fuel cutoff switch also transitions from ‘Cutoff’ to ‘Run.’ 

The report noted that when fuel control switches were moved from ‘Cut off’ to ‘Run’ while the aircraft was inflight, the engines full authority dual engine control (FADEC) automatically managed a relight and thrust recovery sequence of ignition and fuel introduction.

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“The EGT was observed to be rising for both engines indicating relight. Engine 1’s core deceleration stopped, reversed and started to progress to recovery. Engine 2 was able to relight but could not arrest core speed deceleration and re-introduced fuel repeatedly to increase core speed acceleration and recovery,” it found.

At about 08:09:05 UTC, one of the pilots transmitted “MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY,” and the EAFR recording stopped at 08:09:11 UTC.

The post further claims that in response to the AAIB Preliminary report “FAA & EASA have issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (AD 2025-16-51), requiring all operators to inspect B787 captain seat tracks within 72 hours.”

However, we did not find any such emergency directive on the official website of the FAA. The most recent EAD, on the website, was issued on March 21, 2025 and is linked to Bell Model 505 helicopter.

The alleged decision by Boeing and Air India, based on purported findings detailed in the post, were also found to be false. The actual statement by the firms on the AAIB’s preliminary report on the June 12 crash can be seen here and here.

Notably, the AAIB has not recommended any actions to B787-8 and/or GEGEnx-1B engine operators and manufacturers in its preliminary report.  

“Investigation is continuing and the probe team will review and examine additional evidence, records and information that is being sought from the stakeholders,” it stated.

Government’s PIB Fact Check also flagged the viral post allegedly revealing the findings of AAIB’s preliminary report, and termed it “fake.” “This report has not been issued by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau,” it stated. 

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Conclusion

Hence, we find that the viral post, claiming that the AAIB prelim report on Air India crash termed ‘captain’s seat malfunction’ as the ‘root cause’ of the accident, is false.

Sources
Preliminary Report On Air India Plane Crash By AAIB
Official Website Of FAA
X Post By PIB Fact Check, Dated July 10, 2025