One Man Walked Away. 261 Didn’t. Now Two Nations Are Fighting Over What Really Brought Down The Dreamliner

The June 12 Ahmedabad disaster was one of the worst aviation accidents in history.

It’s rapidly turning into one of the most controversial.

The demise of Air India Flight 171 was a resounding shock.

Not just because major airliner accidents are so rare, but this aircraft was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner – one of the most modern and advanced passenger aircraft flying in the world today.

The heavily automated jet had never suffered a fatal crash before.

And then there were the circumstances.

The twin-engined 787 went down little more than 30 seconds after lifting off from the Ahmedabad airport runway.

But both engines failed simultaneously. And that’s something decades of engineering and testing are supposed to have prevented.

United States investigators are pointing the finger at Captain Sumeet Sabharwal. They say the initial evidence indicates that he deliberately switched off the fuel pumps.

Indian investigators have a different opinion. They say a series of clues points to a serious electrical issue triggering a cascade of critical failures.

Now, six months after the tragedy sent shockwaves around the world, both nations are at loggerheads over how the investigation should proceed.