This comes after the AAIB's initial plan of allegedly releasing an interim report at the one-year mark saw significant opposition.

This comes after the AAIB's initial plan of allegedly releasing an interim report at the one-year mark saw significant opposition.

This comes after the AAIB's initial plan of allegedly releasing an interim report at the one-year mark saw significant opposition.

Exactly a year after the deadly Air India crash that killed 260 people, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on Friday released an interim update on the probe, saying that "significant progress" had been made so far.

Though the one-year mark is typically the time under which the final probe reports are released, the AAIB said on Friday that the final report would be released after all investigative activities, international reviews, and consultations were completed, in line with the ICO's Annexure 13.

Annexure 113 of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) deals with probes into aircraft accidents.

Though the interim statement did not specify when the final report would be released, or the exact reason why it was delayed, a Reuters report claimed that the final AAIB report would be released only three months later.

The report added, citing sources in the know, that the delay was because an analysis of the AI 171's engines—which were built by GE Aerospace—needed to be completed.

The company became a key focus of the probe into the June 12, 2025 crash of an Air India flight soon after takeoff, later recognised as one of the world's deadliest air disasters in recent times.

The AAIB's interim statement was released in line with international rules, which state that the final report must be released within a year of a tragedy "if possible", but if not, an interim update should be issued on each anniversary of the disaster till the release of the final report.

"Significant progress has been made in the examination and analysis of aircraft systems, flight recorder data, engine-related components, maintenance and operational records, and other evidence relevant to the investigation," the probe agency said, condoling families who lost people in the tragedy.

This comes after the agency's initial plan of allegedly releasing an interim report at the one-year mark saw significant opposition—mainly from the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP).

The pilots' body has previously urged the agency to seek more technical data on the plane from Boeing and Air India to allow for a "rebuttal of the pilot suicide theory being explored ‌by the AAIB".

"If there is no conclusion from the investigation, releasing an interim report will only lead to more misunderstandings," FIP president C.S. Randhawa told PTI on Thursday.

Meanwhile, in Ahmedabad, grieving families on Friday said prayers and offered flowers at the site of the crash last year in a sombre anniversary marking the loss of 260 people.

With over 260 saplings planted during a prayer meeting at the BJ Medical College and candle-light memorials underway, the lone survivor and the families of the deceased continue their long wait for the truth.

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