Friends,

Following the devastating crash of Air India flight AI171 — a Boeing 787 that went down seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad, claiming the lives of all but one passenger onboard and many on the ground — the AAIB published their preliminary report centering on the aircraft’s fuel control switches. Fundamentally, the report outlined that the fuel supply to both engines was cutoff shortly after takeoff.

The FAA has now weighed in.

Their conclusion? The fuel control switches on the Boeing 787 are functioning as designed.

That’s the news. But here’s what’s worth sitting with: those switches, which were reportedly flipped from RUN to CUTOFF just after rotation, weren’t triggered by some unexpected system fault or electrical misfire. If the FAA is right — it means a human made that move.

And that’s where the questions begin.

These switches are meant to be used either on the ground or mid-flight during an actual emergency. Not seconds after departure. Not when there’s no sign of engine trouble. And certainly not at low altitude, where there’s no margin for error.

In the cockpit voice recording, one pilot is purportedly heard asking, “Why did you cutoff?” — and the other replies with something to the end of, “I didn’t.” That brief, haunting exchange raises more than it answers. Was this a miscommunication? A fatal mistake? Something else entirely?

We don’t yet know who said what — whether it was the captain or first officer, or what else was going on in the cockpit in those critical seconds. But this new FAA statement effectively rules out a mechanical failure. It tells us the aircraft did what it was told to do.

Plane crashes are always devastating. This one is no exception.

I’ll continue following the story as it unfolds. For now, my heart is with the families of those lost — and with the investigators working to understand what went wrong.

Fly well.

NEWS

South Korea and Indian regulators call for inspection of fuel cutoff switches on the 787. I’d expect others will follow — though the FAA’s commentary reads as conclusive.

One Mile at a Time flags that as of today AI is handling Bonvoy room upgrades.

Southwest is adding St Thomas to their network in 2026.

Avelo is shutting down their hub and operation in Burbank later this year.

DEALS

The sign up bonus on the Chase Sapphire Reserve business card is massive.

I am seeing a lot of unsurprisingly low fall transatlantic fares: here is Madrid non-stop from Dallas for ~$474 round trip per person (current as of writing).