On June 12, 2025, Air India flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 registered VT-ANB, crashed seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad, India, killing 260 people, including crew, passengers, and civilians on the ground. The intended route was Ahmedabad/London-Gatwick. The estimated flight time was approximately 9 hours and 15 minutes. The flight actually lasted less than two minutes.

The preliminary report released by the Indian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (Aaib) confirmed a technical event as simple in its dynamics as it was exceptional in its rarity: both engines suddenly shut down, a few seconds after takeoff, due to the two fuel control switches being moved from Run to Cutoff in rapid succession (one second from one to the other). No system anomalies, adverse weather conditions, or recorded faults were reported.

Based on these data, AVIONEWS invited Professor Lorenzo Mezzadri to conduct a technical simulation and a reasoned reflection on the event.

Mezzadri is the current president of the Italian Flight Safety Committee (Ifsc), accountable manager of Urbe Aero Flight Academy, a pilot, and a human factors expert. He has been involved in training, operational safety, and technical investigations for years.

The simulation was conducted at the Urbe Aero Flight Academy training center, at Rome-Urbe airport, using a certified flight simulator by analyzing the time sequence reported in the Aaib Preliminary Report.

On the accident see also the articles published by AVIONEWS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.

Below is the video of the simulation: