‘Well-maintained’: Air India defends jet’s condition before fatal crash

Air India’s Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed in Ahmedabad, killing all but one of 242 people on board. Photo / Getty Images

Air India’s Boeing plane was “well-maintained” before it crashed a week ago, killing all but one of 242 people on board, the airline says.

Indian authorities are yet to detail what caused the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner to hurtle to the ground in the western city of Ahmedabad a week ago.

At least 38 people were killed in the residential neighbourhood that the plane hit, causing such devastation that DNA analysts are still trying to identify dozens of the dead.

As investigators attempt to retrieve data from the plane’s black boxes – the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder – the airline said on Thursday no problems were detected with the jet before the disaster.

Investigators are analysing black box data from the plane crash and 215 victims have been identified through DNA testing. Photo / Getty Images

“The plane was well-maintained, with its last major check in June 2023,” Air India said in a statement. “Its right engine was overhauled in March 2025 and the left engine was inspected in April 2025.

“Both the aircraft and engines were regularly monitored, showing no issues before the flight.”

The London-bound jet burst into a fireball when it smashed down in Ahmedabad moments after take-off.

Initial checks on Air India’s Dreamliners since the crash “did not reveal any major safety concerns”, the country’s civil aviation regulator said on Tuesday.

India’s aviation investigative unit said on Thursday the probe was “progressing steadily”. “Key recovery work, including site documentation and evidence collection, has been completed, and further analysis is now under way,” the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said in a statement.

‘Highly experienced pilot’

Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian on board the flight, as well as 12 crew members. The pilots were accomplished flyers, according to the airline.

“The flight was led by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a highly experienced pilot and trainer with over 10,000 hours flying widebody aircraft,” it said. “First Officer Clive Kunder had over 3400 hours of flying experience.”

While investigators try to piece together what went wrong, many families of victims are still waiting for their loved ones to be identified.

As of Friday morning, 215 victims had been matched through DNA testing, all but nine of them passengers, according to the civil hospital’s medical superintendent Rakesh Joshi.

The remains of around 15 of them have been transported by air, Joshi told journalists. Six people injured in the disaster remained in hospital, with one due to be discharged soon and the others in a stable condition.

– Agence France-Presse