India, June 12 -- The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's preliminary report on the Air India flight 171 crash provided the first official account of the disaster that killed 260 people just after takeoff from the Ahmedabad airport on June 12, 2025.

The report was released a month after the crash. Here are its key findings and what they mean:

Both engine fuel switches "transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of 01 sec", roughly three seconds after the plane lifted off from the ground. This immediately cut fuel supply to both engines, causing loss of power and, consequently, lift. The report, however, did not determine what caused the switches to move-whether it was human action, mechanical failure...