The Air India crash engine status has raised serious questions after the fatal crash of flight AI171 near Ahmedabad. Chairman N Chandrasekaran confirmed that the aircraft had one new engine and one in-service engine, both without any known issues.
He told Times Now that Air India installed the right engine in March 2025, while the left engine had its last maintenance in 2023. It was scheduled for a check in December 2025. “Both engines had clean operational histories,” Chandrasekaran said.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed shortly after takeoff, killing at least 270 people. Investigators retrieved the black boxes and are now analyzing the flight data and cockpit recordings. Chandrasekaran urged the public not to speculate. “Experts have assured me the black boxes will explain everything,” he said.
Aviation analyst Kishore Chinta, formerly with India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, explained that engine age doesn’t determine health. The Genx-1B engines made by GE Aerospace use Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC), a system that constantly monitors performance.
Technicians use this data along with inspections to decide when to service the engines. “You can’t assume a new engine is healthy or an old one is faulty,” Chinta explained. He added that parts called Life Limited Parts (LLPs) have fixed limits, typically 15,000 to 20,000 cycles. One cycle equals each start and shutdown of the engine.
Air India responded by reducing international wide-body flights by 15% until mid-July. The airline cited enhanced safety checks, crew caution, and regional tensions as contributing factors.
So far, the airline has cleared 26 of its 33 Boeing 787s after inspections. Crews will inspect the remaining seven soon. Air India also plans to run additional safety checks on its Boeing 777 fleet.
India’s aviation regulator ordered these measures to prevent further risk. In a public statement, Air India said, “We took a painful step, but safety demands it. The combination of events has left us no choice.”
The crash came during Air India’s transformation under Tata Sons, which bought the airline from the government in 2022. Tata owns major global brands like Tetley Tea and Jaguar Land Rover and has ambitious plans for Air India’s future.
Aviation experts say the tragedy could slow the airline’s reform path in the short term. However, long-term goals remain, and the leadership now focuses on regaining trust and ensuring safety.
The Air India crash engine status remains a central part of the investigation. Experts believe that the black box data will soon uncover the cause and help restore confidence in the airline’s operations.
READ: Black Box Recovered After Air India Crash as Families Await Answers
