The chairman of Air India has confirmed that one of the engines on the Air India flight that crashed last week had recently been replaced, while the other was scheduled for servicing at the end of his year.
In an interview, N. Chandrasekaran said there had never been any issues with the aircraft’s engines. He noted that the right engine was newly installed in March 2025, while the left engine last underwent maintenance in 2023.
The crash, which occurred less than a minute after takeoff from Ahmedabad, killed more than 270 people. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was en route to London when it suffered an apparent dual engine failure, which caused the aircraft to plummet.
Investigators are now analyzing data from the plane’s black boxes, which contain cockpit recordings and flight information, to reconstruct the aircraft’s final moments and determine the cause of the crash. Officials are also continuing to sift through debris at the crash site.
Chandrasekaran acknowledged the widespread speculation surrounding the crash but urged the public not to jump to conclusions. He reiterated that flight AI171 had a clean history.
He emphasized that the data from the black boxes and cockpit voice recorders will provide the answers investigators need, and for now, everyone must wait for that data to become available.
Kishore Chinta, who previously worked as an investigator with India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, told media outlets that an engine’s condition isn’t always tied to its age. He explained that even a newly installed engine can still experience issues.
Unlike older models, the Genx-1B engines used on the Boeing 787-8 don’t follow a fixed maintenance schedule. Rather, they rely on a Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) system that continuously monitors the engine’s performance and condition.
Maintenance is determined based on data collected by this system, along with routine physical inspections.
Meanwhile, Air India has announced a 15 percent reduction in its international operations while the investigation into the crash is ongoing.
In an official statement, the airline said the decision was made due to “compounding circumstances,” including heightened caution among ground staff and crew, more intensive safety checks, and growing tensions in the Middle East.
In the wake of the deadly crash, officials ordered additional safety checks on Air India’s fleet of Boeing 787 aircraft as a precautionary measure.
Since then, the airline has inspected 26 of its 33 Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 jets, all of which have been cleared for service.
