Ahmedabad plane crash: Engines lost power at critical stage, says ex-Air Force chief Arup Raha

PTI, KOLKATA, JUNE 14, 2025 : Former Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha (Retired), on Saturday said the engine of the Air India aircraft that crashed near Ahmedabad airport on June 12 "definitely" lost power at a critical stage and there was no time for recovery. He said there could be many other possibilities for the crash such as fuel contamination, and glitches in software and control systems.

Rejecting the sabotage angle as raised by some quarters, Raha urged all not to speculate things and wait for the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to complete the investigation. The Ahmedabad-London flight crashed into buildings on a medical college campus shortly after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Airport on Thursday, killing 241 out of 242 persons on board as well as several others on the ground.

"This is very sad, heartbreaking. So many people died together. As of now, it is very difficult to say what has gone wrong," Raha told reporters on the sidelines of an ICC event on the role of MSME in the defence sector.

"Definitely there was loss of power and at a critical stage... you are transmitting from the ground into the air, your height is little. There is no time for recovery. And loss of engine power will result in a stall... (The aircraft) will then descend very rapidly and crash. And that is what has happened," he said.

The former Air Force officer said engines of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner generate thrust and losing the power of both engines simultaneously is very rare — "maybe one in a billion cases". It is difficult to say what went wrong, he said and talked about other possibilities.

"There might be a software issue, some problem in the control (system), fuel contamination... But I do not give any credence to the sabotage angle. The loss of power was an indication of some glitch," Raha said.

"We should not make any wild claims till the DGCA and other agencies of the government complete the probe," he said.

Asked about the role of the ground staff, he said they have to certify the weight an aircraft has carried.

"Based on these inputs on the ground, the pilot takes off. You can't add several kgs to the stipulated figures. But as I said, investigations will unravel the reason and factors," Raha said.

He said he does not think bird hit could be the reason behind the crash of the Boeing 787-8 aircraft.

"There were complaints (made by) whistleblowers from their own company. I think those need to be investigated," Raha said.

Earlier, addressing the ICC event, he advocated the manufacturing of aircraft engines indigenously.