China Eastern Airlines crash probe reveals shocking findings, renews questions over Air India 171 tragedy

In a troubling turn of events, the investigation into the tragic crash of Air India flight 171 has resurfaced critical questions regarding fuel switch operations in aircraft. A recent report from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) sheds light on the March 2022 disaster involving a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737, revealing that the fuel supply to both engines was disabled just before the aircraft plummeted into a hillside in Tengxian County, China, resulting in the loss of 132 lives. The parallels to the Air India incident, which occurred nearly a year later in Ahmedabad, are striking. The preliminary findings from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), released on July 12, 2025, indicated that both fuel control switches were switched from ‘Run’ to ‘Cutoff’ merely three seconds post-takeoff, leading to a dual engine failure in the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. This aircraft, like the one involved in the China Eastern crash, is also manufactured by Boeing. Controversy has erupted among pilot associations in India, with the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) contesting the AAIB's initial conclusions. They suggest that a pre-lift-off electrical disturbance may have played a significant role in the crash, potentially leading to unintentional fuel cutoff without pilot involvement. In a letter addressed to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, they referenced issues such as lithium-ion battery failures and abnormal relay behavior that could have triggered this malfunction. Aviation experts, however, argue that such fuel switch manipulations typically require deliberate human action. The AAIB is expected to release a conclusive report by June 12, 2026, as per International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) guidelines, which advocate for a final report within a year of an incident. Meanwhile, the NTSB's investigation into the China Eastern Airlines crash has not uncovered any technical safety deficiencies in the aircraft. Data recovered from the flight's recorders indicates that both engine fuel switches were turned off simultaneously at an altitude of 29,000 feet, leading to a decline in engine speeds. Curiously, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has yet to issue any public report on this catastrophic event, remaining silent for over two years since the incident.