Air India crash probe says draft final report may be ready in October

India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has said a draft final report on last year's Air India crash could be ready in October. The update was filed in an affidavit to the Supreme Court, which is hearing matters linked to the investigation. The crash killed 260 people in total and remains one of the country's deadliest aviation disasters.

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The bureau said it is now in the analysis phase of the inquiry and expects that stage to finish in about six weeks. In the same filing, it said it had completed 49 of the 66 steps required in a serious aircraft accident investigation. Those steps included examining the crash site and wreckage, collecting evidence such as the flight recorders, and reviewing records including the crew's medical and training history.

The accident happened on 12 June 2025, when an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner flying to London crashed seconds after taking off from Ahmedabad airport in western India. The aircraft came down about 6km from the airport and struck a building used as doctors' accommodation at a medical college, causing an explosion. Of the 260 people killed, 241 were on board and 19 were on the ground.

One passenger, Viswashkumar Ramesh from Leicester, survived. The latest filing gives the clearest official indication yet of when investigators may complete their work, but it does not say when any report will be made public. It also does not disclose any findings about what caused the crash.

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That leaves open a central question in a case that has drawn close attention because of the scale of the loss of life and the involvement of a long-haul passenger jet shortly after departure. The bureau said it had also reviewed organisational culture, human factors and safety practices as part of the inquiry. It added that a psychological autopsy and evaluation had been carried out, and that the final report of the psychologist had been received.

The filing also said a transcript of the cockpit voice recorder had been prepared, although no details were released. The investigation began soon after the crash, and a preliminary report was issued a month later. In an update released on the first anniversary of the disaster, investigators said there had been significant progress in analysing evidence, but they gave few specifics.

The new affidavit suggests the inquiry is moving toward its final stage, though the cause of the crash remains undisclosed. What happens next will depend on whether the analysis is completed on schedule and whether the final report is then filed and published.

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