'11-Year History Of Electrical Defects': US Aviation Group On Air India Plane In Ahmedabad Crash

Last Updated:March 20, 2026, 06:30 IST

The aviation safety group said it has not received a response after it shared the issues with National Transportation Safety Board and Aviation Accidents Investigation Bureau

The London-bound Air India Boeing 787-8 aircraft, which crashed in Ahmedabad last year killing 241 people onboard, had a history of fire-damaged power panels, bus tie bar damage, core network faults, electrical transients, and open circuits.

The Foundation for Aviation Safety (FAS), a US-based aviation safety advocacy group, claimed to have accessed some “non-public" documents highlighting these defects in the Air India plane.

The FAS, however, said it has not received any response after it shared these documents with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Aviation Accidents Investigation Bureau (AAIB) in India. Ed Pierson, executive director at FAS, told News18 that the aircraft had numerous electrical issues.

“This aircraft had a documented 11-year history of serious electrical and electronic problems. Bus power control unit faults, flight management computer faults — the list goes on. And when you see that many systems affected across all those domains, it really points to one thing, which is unstable electrical power. These weren’t minor discrepancies. Many of these events were severe enough to cause the airplane to divert to an emergency location and be grounded," Pierson exclusively told News18.

He said the pattern demands scrutiny. “We at the Foundation for Aviation Safety believe these defects played a major role in the accident and need to be thoroughly investigated," he added.

Pierson further claimed to have made repeated efforts to share this information with the NTSB, but received no response.

“Eventually, staff from the US Senate intervened and contacted the NTSB, and we finally received an email from the lead US investigator. I provided him with one of the reports that clearly showed serious electrical issues. It shouldn’t have taken more than a day or two to read this document and determine its importance. But every time we followed up, he said they were still reviewing it," he said.

The FAS also wrote to the AAIB inquiring if these details were considered in its ongoing investigation but has not yet received a response. Pierson noted a similar experience with the Boeing 737 MAX crashes, where evidence provided to US authorities did not reach international investigators. “This is very frustrating," he said.

‘DON’T REALLY HAVE ANY CONFIDENCE IN INVESTIGATION’

Asked if the FAS expects AAIB to provide accurate findings without reviewing these documents, Joe Jacobsen, deputy director at FAS, expressed doubts about transparency and accountability.

“We really don’t have any confidence in the investigation because we’ve tried to provide this information to the investigators, and they’ve shown no interest. Also, we haven’t seen any indication over the last nine months that they are examining electrical failures in this airplane. So, at this point, we’re not expecting full transparency and accountability. But of course, we are hopeful," Jacobsen said.

Pierson, meanwhile, alleged that it appears there has been a deliberate effort by Air India and Boeing to conceal or withhold information from AAIB, NTSB, and other investigators, which would violate international aviation standards. Commenting on Boeing’s safety standards, he said the 787 has a strong safety record but also a history of serious electrical issues.

He said the programme was delayed for years and went billions over budget due to engineering and manufacturing problems. This specific aircraft, VT-ANB, was parked for years before certification and had faults from the day it arrived in India, he added.

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