Ahmedabad (13.06.2025): The way Air India flight from Ahmedabad to London crashed just 30 seconds of taking off, it has not only sent the entire country mourning but set in motion the discussion over the possibility of the crash. The flight was carrying 242 people including crew members which went down on a medical college hostel mess killing 241 on board.

Various experts have come up with their opinions but investigators are exploring four major theories regarding plane crash, including a bird strike, double-engine malfunction, fuel contamination and overloading. They are scrutinising maintenance records to determine if the aircraft missed any repairs or scheduled maintenance.

Flight data recorder and radar data are being investigated and testimonies from the lone survivor are very crucial. The survivor mentioned that within a minute of take-off, it seemed the aircraft had lost power, suggesting that something might have cut off power to the engines. The aircraft then accelerated, lurched forward, and crashed.

Flight tracking platform FlightRadar has disclosed that the final signal from Air India flight AI171 was received mere seconds after take-off, as the aircraft climbed to an altitude of 625 feet before crashing. 

A Former Pilot Ehsan Khalid says, "The Flight Data Recorder, Cockpit Voice Recorder and the ACARS data will tell exactly what may have happened. The visuals show that the aircraft went down while flying. Which means there was no mid-air explosion.”

Khalid further says, “The visuals show that the aircraft faced a loss of power which can be due to engine malfunction, but it is very unlikely that both engines would lose power simultaneously. It is a very big engine, and it is rare that both engines lose power due to a bird hit in a one-minute duration... The pilot gave a Mayday call. This means that the failure was seen in the cockpit. They went airborne while combating that failure. I don't understand why the landing gear was still down.”

He added that the landing gear is raised as soon as the flight takes off. Since the landing gear was down, it is possible that a loss of engine was detected beforehand. There are many variables, and any speculation would be unjust. The biggest question is why the landing gear was not up. Whether it was one problem or multiple problems, no one can say anything yet." But even a remote possibility of the crash can’t be ruled out unless the investigation report is published.