Imogen James
Live reporter

Image source, Reuters

Late on Friday night, a preliminary report was released on the Air India crash that killed 260 people on 12 June shortly after take-off in Ahmedabad.

It drew no conclusions, but found that the fuel switches - which turn the engines on and off - were in the cut-off position moments before the plane crashed.

Voice recordings from the cockpit reveal that there was confusion between the two pilots over how the switches were cut off. One of the pilots is heard asking the other why he cut them off, the other pilot responds that he did not do so.

India's aviation minister has urged people not to jump to conclusions, as a US aviation watchdog says the investigation will "follow the facts".

Families of some of the victims have been demanding answers. One man tells the BBC he has been left with more questions than answers following the release of the report.

The investigation led by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, with assistance from the US National Transportation Safety Board, continues.

A final report is due to be released next year.

We're now bringing our live coverage to a close, but you can keep up to date with everything we know and read more about why the cockpit audio deepens the mystery of Air India crash.

Image source, AYUSHI CHRISTIAN

In the hours after the preliminary report on the Air India crash was released, we've been hearing from the families and friends of some of the 260 people killed.

'Justice should be served': Ayushi Christian's husband Lawrence Christian was killed in the crash, she calls for justice for the victims. "Action should be taken against those responsible," she tells the BBC.

'Her story will live on': The cousin of Lamnunthem Singson, a crew member who lost their life, says the family are "trying to make sense of our loss". He explains that he is not sure if knowing the reason for the crash will change the way they are grieving.

'Was it avoidable?': Badasab Syed, 59, lost his brother, sister-in-law and their two children in the crash. He says he was left with more questions than answers following the release of the report.

'Did he suffer when he died?': Shweta Parihar lost her husband Abhinav Parihar in the aviation disaster, she says the ongoing investigation offers her little comfort. "What is the point of the investigation now? We are finished,” she tells the BBC.

'We don't have words to describe our pain': Rafiq Dawood's 25-year-old son, Faizan Rafiq, died in the crash. "We don't know about the fuel switch or other technical details. The fact is that we have lost our son," he says.

'Our hopes have been shattered': A relative of Saiyed Javed Ali, who died in the crash along with his wife and two children, has called on the Indian government to act against those responsible. "Proper investigation should be done to find what caused the crash," he says.

Image source, RAFIQ MEMON

An aviation lawyer, who is advising some of the grieving families, says the findings of the initial report in to the Air India crash are "deeply concerning".

Demitrus Danas, from British firm Irwin Mitchell, says the findings "certainly merit further scrutiny to establish the full facts around how this tragedy happened".

“We’re continuing to speak with and advise families who’ve been affected by the Air India crash. Understandably, all they want is to be provided with answers," he adds in a statement.

“As investigations continue, we’d urge families not to feel pressured by Air India’s owners into signing documents relating to potential compensation payments."

Archana Shukla
Reporting from Mumbai

Image source, Family handout

A month on from the Air India crash, family, friends and neighbours have all gathered to remember 23-year-old Maithili Patil - one of the cabin crew members on board the flight.

Many are discussing the preliminary report released on Friday, but no one really grasps the technical details. “What do we understand of the report - I just know that my daughter is not going to come back,” Maithili’s mother Pramila Moreshwar Patil tells me while holding back her tears.

I had visited Maithili’s family the day after the crash and was touched by how the entire port village of Nava Sheva on the outskirts of Mumbai had come together to mourn the loss.

Maithili was the first girl from her village to become an air hostess, to fly the world - something the whole village was proud of.

This felt like a personal loss to each one of them. They’re here again today - everyone except for Maithili’s father. He is a construction worker who had to report to work or lose his pay. “We don’t know whether to grieve or earn a living,” Pramila said.

Maithili’s job was also a big support to the family. With two other children in college, the family has been forced to carry on through the pain.

Earlier, we reported that the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it is closely engaged with the investigation and its international partners.

We now have their full statement, which says:

"The FAA received the preliminary report for the Air India accident.

"As the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) continues to lead the investigation for the US, the FAA supports their work and remains closely engaged with our international partners as the investigation progresses.

"Our priority is to follow the facts where they lead. We are committed to promptly addressing any risks identified throughout the process."

Samira Hussain
Reporting from Delhi

Image source, Handout

Imtiyaz Ali had been anxiously awaiting the findings of the preliminary report into last month's Air India crash that killed his brother, sister-in-law, and their two young children.

When the report was finally released early on Saturday in India, he read it carefully - only to be disappointed by what he said "reads like a product description".

"Other than the pilots' final conversation, there's nothing in it that really points to what caused the crash."

He hopes more details will be made public in the months to come.

"This matters to us. We want to know exactly what happened. It won't change anything for us now, we continue grieving - just as we have since that day. But at least we'll have some answers."

• The BBC's Samira Hussain has more on this story

Owen Shipton
BBC News

Sameer Rafik, whose cousin Faizan died in the Air India crash, has called on the airline to release the cockpit voice recording.

Speaking to the BBC he said he didn’t trust the report, claiming it made no sense why the pilots would switch off the fuel supply to the engines.

"I don’t believe that because both the pilots were experienced enough to fly. The captain had flown more than 8,300 hours, the co-pilot had more than 3,100 hours.

"Until the airline provides the cockpit recording to us I’m not going to believe it."

He said the report didn't provide any new details they weren’t already aware of and that only the cockpit voice recording could prove to them what happened.

When asked why he felt so unconvinced by the report, he said he didn’t trust the Indian government.

He said he had trust issues with the Indian government because they hadn’t provided the cockpit voice recording.

"If they don’t want to do it publicly, that’s fine," he said, "but provide it to the families." He added that he would be prepared to travel to India to hear it.

"Until someone loses a loved one in the same way, they’ll never understand."

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) thanks the Indian government, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau and its Ministry of Civil Aviation for "their collaboration and co-operation since the start of this investigation".

The investigation is being led by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, with support from representatives from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

In a statement, it added that "there are no recommended actions to B787-8 and/or GE GEnx-1B engine operators and manufacturers".

As a reminder, the aircraft involved in the crash was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, a model that was launched 14 years ago. Here's a closer look at the aircraft:

We've been hearing a lot about the fuel switches of the Air India flight, which the preliminary report into the crash says were cut-off after the plane took off.

Our international business correspondent takes a look into the use of these switches, and how they could have ended up in the off position.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has said it is closely engaged with international partners and supports the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is leading the investigation into the Air India crash for the US, Reuters news agency reports.

The report also notes that the aviation watchdog has said its priority is to follow the facts and promptly address any safety risks identified during the investigation.

We have contacted the FAA for more on their statement.

Imogen James
Live reporter

There were 53 British nationals on board the Air India flight, which was destined for London's Gatwick airport.

Responding to the preliminary report, a Department for Transport spokesperson tells the BBC: "This was a tragic accident, and our thoughts remain with the victims and their families.”

“The UK welcomes the publication of the Indian Authorities’ preliminary report, and will review this in detail and consider if any action is required."

As we have previously reported, at least five buildings were destroyed and 19 people on the ground were killed when the Air India plane crashed last month.

Video from the scene captured last month show firefighters working at the crash site as dense smoke fills the air.

Lakshmi Patel
BBC Gujarati

A relative of Saiyed Javed Ali, who died in the crash along with his wife and two children, has called on the Indian government to act against those responsible.

"Javed was the pillar of our house. All our hopes have been shattered. This incident has broken many homes," said Rafiq Memon, Javed's uncle.

"Proper investigation should be done to find what caused the crash," he said.

Javed, who moved to the UK more than a decade ago, had come to India to meet his unwell mother, who lives in Mumbai. He was returning to London with his family when the plane crashed.

Image source, Rafiq Memon

Soutik Biswas
India Correspondent

India is the world’s third-largest passenger aviation market.

The country’s scheduled carriers operate nearly 850 aircraft, a sharp rise from around 400 a decade ago.

Annual air passenger numbers have more than doubled since 2014-15, jumping from 116 million to 239 million.

The number of commercial aerodromes has also seen a significant increase, growing from around 60–70 a decade ago to nearly 130–140 today.

Earlier this week, I asked India's air safety regulator whether June's crash dented the reputation of air travel in India.

Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, the chief of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the data didn't point to that.

"We looked at the data to assess whether it had any impact on domestic or international operations. There was no significant drop in traffic. At most, we observed a very marginal dip for a short period, affecting both domestic and international flights, along with a few cancellations," Kidwai said.

Image source, Getty Images

Tejas Vaidya
BBC Gujarati

Nareshsinh Thakore's two-year-old daughter and his mother-in-law, Sarlaben Thakore, were among the 19 people who were killed on the ground after the plane crashed into a busy neighbourhood.

On 12 June, like every other day, Sarlaben had gone to the BJ Medical College to deliver food when the plane crashed into the hostel complex. The child was with her at the time.

"We lost family members even though they weren’t on the plane," Nareshsinh Thakore says.

"How can I comment on the findings of the report? We don't have any technical knowledge to understand it," he adds.

Image source, Nareshsinh Thakore

Image source, Reuters

Indian Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu is urging people to not "jump to any conclusions" following the release of the preliminary report.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, he says: "Let's not jump to any conclusions at this stage. Let us wait for the final report."

Naidu goes on to thank the efforts of the pilots and crew in India, describing them as the "backbone of this civil aviation".

Naidu adds that believes India has "the most wonderful workforce in terms of pilots and the crew in the whole world."

Samira Hussain
Reporting from Delhi

Image source, Family handout

When Badasab Syed, 59, went to offer prayers at his local mosque in Ahmedabad this morning, fellow worshippers told him about the newly released report on the crash.

Syed, who lost his brother, sister-in-law and their two children in the crash, returned home to see if the report offered any clues about what really happened to the ill-fated flight. But after watching the news, he was left with more questions than answers.

“The report mentions the pilots discussing who turned off fuel and a possible issue with the fuel control switch. We don’t know what that means? Was it avoidable,” he asks.

His brother, IT professional Inayat Syed, 49, had come to India to attend a family wedding. He was traveling back with his wife and their two adult children.

Badasab says the information in the report is for the experts to determine if it was a technical or human error.

But he is disappointed that there are no recommendations yet for Air India or Boeing to prevent such incidents.

"We may have to wait for the final report.”

Tejas Vaidya
BBC Gujarati

Faizan Rafiq was among the 260 people killed in last month's crash.

The 25-year-old had moved to the UK five years ago and was visiting India to celebrate Eid with his family and undergo dental treatment.

His father, Rafiq Dawood, says the crash and Faizan's death have been deeply painful for the family, regardless of whether it was caused by a technical fault or something else.

Image source, Rafiq Dawood

"We don't know about the fuel switch or other technical details. The fact is that we have lost our son," he said. "We don’t have words to describe the pain we’ve felt over the past month."

Dawood, who lives in the western Indian town of Diu, says he has completed all the formalities to receive compensation and has been told by the airline that further communication will be sent via email.

Image source, Reuters

It's been just over 12 hours since the preliminary report into the Air India crash on 12 June was published by India's ministry of civil aviation.

Here's what we know:

The crash: The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was destined for Gatwick, departing from the western Indian city of Ahmedabad. It crashed into a densely populated area seconds after take-off, killing 260 people. The pilots issued a mayday signal.

The report: The fuel switches, which turn the engines on and off, were cut off shortly after take-off. They were then turned back on, but the engines failed to regain thrust. We learned that a pilot could be heard asking the other in a voice recording: why did you cut off? The other replied he did not do so. No significant faults have been found with the plane or its engines so far.

The Air India response: In a statement, the airline said it stands in solidarity with those affected. It acknowledges the report and says it will continue to work with the relevant authorities.

The reaction: Some of the relatives of crash victims feel frustrated. Dr Mario Donadi, colleague of victim Dr Prateek Joshi, says the report is "a huge slap in the face". Experts tell the BBC that the fuel switches cannot easily be knocked off. They're "protected against somebody just brushing against it," says professor Graham Braithwaite. The Airline Pilots' Association of India calls for further transparency with the investigation.

The next steps: Investigations will continue. There will be testing of fuel samples, analysis data of two inflight recorders and an analysis of post-mortem reports of the crew and passengers. A final report is expected within a year.

Soutik Biswas
India Correspondent

The question has been on pretty much everyone’s mind since the crash.

Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, head of India’s aviation safety regulator DGCA, told me last week that “India’s skies have always been safe - past and present”.

He points to global safety data from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), showing that India often outperformed the world average in accidents per million flights.

Kidwai notes that between 2010 and 2024, only two years saw India’s accident rate rise above the global average - and those were linked to major accidents.

So, while every tragedy is devastating, India’s overall aviation safety record remains strong, he says.

I have also asked him about recent headlines that have raised concerns - from a Delhi-Srinagar flight that hit severe turbulence to growing reports of maintenance oversights and training shortfalls - you can read more about what he has to say here.

Image source, AFP