NEW DELHI: The US-based Foundation for Aviation Safety (FAS) has written to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), alleging a lack of transparency in the ongoing investigation into the Air India AI-171 crash, accusing the agency of failing to acknowledge critical documents submitted to it regarding the aircraft involved in the accident on June 12, 2025.
In a letter dated August 27, 2026, addressed to AAIB Director General G. V. G. Yugandhar, FAS Executive Director Ed Pierson said the organisation was “deeply disturbed” by what it called the AAIB’s continued lack of transparency and its failure to comply with international accident investigation standards.
Pierson stated that hundreds of official non-public documents pertaining to the VT-ANB aircraft, which the foundation said it had transmitted to the AAIB via a UK AAIB expert, detailed what he described as chronic, systemic failures involving the aircraft’s electrical, electronic and flight computer systems. He said this information was relevant to determining the potential causal factors behind the crash, which claimed 260 lives.
Citing ICAO Annex 13, Section 5, which mandates investigating states to gather, record and analyse all relevant information, Pierson alleged that the AAIB had not acknowledged the existence of these documents in its Preliminary Report, its subsequent Interim Report, or at any point since. He termed this an “egregious breach” of the international obligation.
The letter further claimed that the aircraft’s ACARS and Aircraft Health Monitoring (AHM) data streams contained information pointing to system failures on VT-ANB, including the precise timing of specific failure events preceding the crash, and alleged that none of this data had been made public.
Pierson also alleged that the AAIB had issued no interim safety recommendations or warnings to the global aviation community despite being in possession of evidence pointing to system failures, while suggesting that the agency appeared inclined to just put blame on one of the pilots. He called for an immediate and formal explanation from the AAIB and demanded that the documents in question be integrated into the public record of the investigation.
Responding to an earlier communication from the foundation dated August 21, 2026, the AAIB, in a letter dated August 26, 2026, stated that the technical information and inputs shared by FAS in relation to the AI-171 investigation were received through the AAIB UK Expert on June 10, 2026, and had been examined by the investigation team during the course of the probe.
The AAIB further stated that the investigation was being conducted in accordance with the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2025, and the applicable provisions of ICAO Annex 13, following fair and impartial investigation practices. It added that all relevant factual information and evidence were available with the investigation team and were being duly examined as part of the ongoing process.
The Air India AI-171 crash remains under investigation, with the AAIB yet to release its final report on the accident.
