A faulty locking system in the captain’s seat caused the Air India Boeing 787 crash that killed 270 people, investigators have said.
The seat suddenly slid backward during takeoff. This unexpected movement caused the captain’s hand to pull the throttle levers back to idle. As a result, the plane lost power and stalled just seconds after liftoff.
The preliminary report shows the incident happened very fast.
“We’re losing thrust!” the co-pilot yelled 15 seconds after takeoff.
Twelve seconds earlier, the captain’s seat had slipped.
By 26 seconds, the aircraft stalled at just 214 feet and crashed into a nearby building used to house medical workers.
The co-pilot tried to recover control but was blocked by the captain’s sudden backward lean. The faulty seat mechanism created an unsafe position that trapped the co-pilot’s access.
Lack of Safety Features Raises Concerns
The report also said the Boeing 787 lacks key safety protections in its throttle system. It did not include reverse-motion protection or weight-based lockouts.
Experts said these missing features might have prevented the accidental power cut.
In response, both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) have ordered urgent inspections of all Boeing 787 captain’s seats worldwide.
Air India has already grounded 12 aircraft with similar maintenance histories.
Boeing announced it will redesign the pilot seat by 2026 to avoid such failures.
All passengers, crew members, and some residents in the building were killed in the crash. One British national survived and remains hospitalized in critical condition.
The final report will be released in July. Global aviation authorities have promised tighter inspection standards and reforms to aircraft safety systems.
Authorities insist there will be no compromise on safety.
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Wow, this is morre harder to bear that the reason 270 persons lost their lives was due to a faulty pilot seat! Something that could be easily fixed. This is terrible!🙄🙄🙄😭😭😭😭😭