Ahmedabad Plane Crash: Amid the ongoing investigation into the AI-171 plane crash in Ahmedabad, former US Department of Transportation Inspector General and aviation attorney Mary Schiavo has raised concerns that a computer-triggered thrust rollback in the Boeing 787 aircraft may have contributed to the accident.

Software malfunction suspected in AI 171 crash

In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Guardian, Mary Schiavo, former Inspector General of the US Department of Transportation and now an aviation attorney with Motley Rice, voiced deep concerns that the crash of Air India Flight AI-171 may have been caused by a known software-triggered engine malfunction.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad in May 2025, killing 274 people. According to Schiavo, the aircraft may have suffered from a dual engine thrust rollback triggered by a software failure, a malfunction that had previously been documented and investigated in similar Boeing 787 incidents.

FADEC under investigation

Schiavo pointed specifically to the Thrust Control Malfunction Accommodation (TCMA), a safety system on the Boeing 787 designed to control engine performance through the Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC). This computer-based system can automatically reduce engine thrust without pilot input if it wrongly senses the aircraft is on the ground. Such a misclassification mid-air could lead to a catastrophic power loss, possibly what occurred in the AI-171 case.

Boeing’s troubled past

Drawing comparisons with a 2019 Japan Air Nippon Airways (ANA) incident, Schiavo confirmed that a similar dual-engine rollback was investigated by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which found it to be a software flaw. Corrective action was mandated, yet it remains unclear whether those fixes were uniformly applied across all 787 fleets.

She also compared the current situation to Boeing’s mishandling of the 737 MAX MCAS software failures, noting that while the aviation world focused on that disaster, risks in the 787 system may not have been fully addressed.

Schiavo calls for independent oversight in India’s probe

Schiavo emphasised the importance of India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) conducting an independent and rigorous probe. “Investigators need to examine not just what Boeing has provided, but also what it hasn’t,” she stressed. This includes health data transmitted by the aircraft, which may have been accessible to both the airline and Boeing. Maintenance records, software update compliance, and prior alerts need thorough examination, she said.

For the grieving families awaiting clarity, Schiavo advised pushing for consistent updates. “Family pressure helps ensure accountability,” she said, highlighting how families are excluded from official investigations even as Boeing remains a party to them.