Ahmedabad, India —

In the story of Air India Flight AI171, the narrative arcs across metal, machine, and mystery. It was a flight meant to rise — and yet, in 38 seconds, it fell into silence. But before that silence, there were whispers. Warnings. Flickers of failure. And at the heart of this growing storm stands the aircraft itself: the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.

✈️ The Aircraft with a Pristine Past

Until June 12, 2025, the Dreamliner had never recorded a single fatal crash. Boeing’s flagship wide-body was lauded for fuel efficiency, composite body strength, and state-of-the-art cockpit automation. The aircraft in question, registered VT-ANB, had been in service since 2014 and was considered airworthy by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

And yet, on that afternoon in Ahmedabad, it never climbed beyond 625 feet. Within seconds of liftoff, it issued a MAYDAY and lost radar contact. That’s all the data we had — until the black boxes were recovered.

🧭 What the Investigators Are Watching Closely

Under the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2017, the AAIB India activated a Level 1 multi-agency investigation, joined by:

The UK’s AAIB (due to flight destination), The US NTSB (due to Boeing’s manufacturing origin), And the FAA, given engine specifications and aircraft design.

Initial focal points include:

Possible electrical misrouting or power failure during climb. Wing flap deployment and landing gear sequencing anomalies. Structural analysis of fuselage pressure and cabin breakpoints.

🎥 A Passenger’s Warning Hours Before

While the crash was unanticipated, it wasn’t without its omens. Hours before the final flight, a man named Akash Vatsa boarded the same aircraft from another sector. He posted a video on X (formerly Twitter) that evening — a dimly lit cabin, no air conditioning, dead screens, flickering call buttons.

“Nothing worked. The entire system was off. Cabin crew said ‘technical glitch.’”

— Akash Vatsa, via official complaint to DGCA

His video, now part of the evidence under review, is more than just a social post — it’s a breadcrumb investigators can’t afford to overlook.

🔍 Is the Dreamliner Under Doubt?

Not officially. Boeing has issued its statement — condoling, cooperating, and committing resources to the inquiry. No mechanical culpability has been declared. Yet the weight of silence is heavy when a machine of such lineage descends into fire.

The stock markets did react — with a 7% fall in Boeing’s share price on NYSE — but officials urge patience. The truth, they say, lies inside terabytes of digital recordings, satellite feed trails, and fractured metal recovered from the site.

🧩 And the Bigger Puzzle?

Variable

Why It Matters

Prior flight malfunction

May reveal undiagnosed electrical faults

Climb-phase crash

Points to thrust or control system instability

Emergency exit ejection

Suggests mid-air structural breach or cabin decompression

First fatal 787 incident

Puts Dreamliner’s global service reputation under renewed scrutiny

🕊️ A Closing Reflection

There’s a strange irony in the name — Dreamliner.

Crafted to glide across continents, but now at the center of a nation’s grief.

While engineers decode black boxes and families wait for answers, one truth remains:

Sometimes, metal fails not in the factory, but in the silence before a scream.

And the cost is always counted in names.