A US-based aviation safety group has claimed that the Air India Boeing 787 Ahmedabad-New York flight aircraft that crashed after takeoff in June 2025 had faced serious technical problems before including an in-flight fire and the airline is set to report a loss of at least $1.6 billion, two separate international media reports said Thursday.
The allegations made by the Foundation for Aviation Safety (FAS), a campaign group based in the US, were reported by BBC while the bottom-line disaster was predicted by Bloomberg.
The FAS has sent a detailed presentation to the US Senate, saying its findings are based on internal documents it has obtained, per the BBC report.
The organisation claimed that documentation in its possession shows system failures began as soon as the aircraft arrived in India on February 1, 2014, and continued until the time of the crash.
The organisation alleged that these issues stemmed from what it described as a “wide and confusing” combination of engineering, manufacturing, quality control and maintenance shortcomings.
Among the problems cited by FAS were electronic and software faults, repeated tripping of circuit breakers, wiring damage, short circuits, loss of electrical power, and overheating of power system components.
The group claimed that such failures posed serious operational and safety risks over the aircraft’s 11-year service life.
The FAS pointed out that Boeing’s 787 programme faced significant challenges, running more than three years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget.
The foundation said it analysed over 2,000 aircraft system failure reports related to the Boeing 787, covering around 18 per cent of the global fleet of 1,235 aircraft. According to FAS, the data represent “just the tip of the iceberg.”
According to the Bloomberg report, Air India is set to report a record annual loss of “at least Rs 150 billion” (around $1.6 billion) for the year ending March 31 after the crash in Ahmedabad – that killed 260 people including 19 on the ground – and airspace shutdowns wiped out progress toward a turnaround.
The owners of the carrier, which is now a joint venture between the Tata Group and Singapore Airlines Ltd, did not respond to requests for comment, per Bloomberg.
The earnings of Air India, which is scouting for a new CEO, were further hit by Pakistan’s closure of airspace for Indian airlines following the four-day skirmish with India in May last year.
Airspace closures have forced the airline to reroute flights and reduce capacity on its long-haul segments, particularly affecting flights to the key markets of North America and Europe.
After the crash, the government began holding direct meetings with senior Air India management, calling for better oversight on safety and engineering.
Last year, Air India received 13 notices for multiple safety violations and incidents. Incidents included a fire in the power unit of an Airbus A321 that had just landed from Hong Kong to Delhi, a Kochi-Mumbai flight that veered off the runaway and suffered damage to an engine cover, and a Delhi-Kolkata flight was forced to abort take-off at the last minute.
Despite the pledged upgrades, customer complaints about the standard of Air India aircraft – including dishevelled and uncomfortable interiors, broken armrests, faulty entertainment systems and frequent delays on international flights – have also continued, sometimes with significant consequences; in March 2025, Air India Flight 126 from Chicago to Delhi had to turn back after 10 hours when 11 out of the plane’s 12 toilets became clogged.
All the losses come on the back of a turbulent year for Indian aviation marked by flier anxiety, flight delays and mass cancellations by a rival carrier that has put a spotlight on the duopolistic market structure.
Spokespersons for Air India, Tata Group and Singapore Airlines did not respond to Bloomberg's emailed request for comments on the losses.
A new five-year plan projected profits only in the third year but it was rejected by the board, per Bloomberg.
Government filings compiled by business intelligence platform Tofler show Air India has lost Rs 322.1 billion over the past three years. The airline sought at least Rs 100 billion in fresh support last year, Bloomberg had reported in October.
According to data from Tata Sons’ annual report, for the year ended 31 March 2025, Air India saw revenues increase to 15 per cent to Rs 78,636 crore from FY24 (combining revenues of Air India, Tata SIA Airlines and Talace), making it amongst the largest contributors to Tata Group topline.