Boeing commercial chief meets Tata Sons chairman after Air India crash; Chandrasekaran calls it 'most heartbreaking' crisis

While the specifics of the meeting remain undisclosed, discussions reportedly focused on the recent crash of Air India flight AI171 — a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner — in Ahmedabad.

The London-bound aircraft crashed on June 12, killing over 270 people. It went down into a medical college complex less than a minute after takeoff.

Flight data shows the aircraft took off at 1:39 pm and began losing altitude moments later, reaching only about 650 feet before the pilot issued a May Day call to Ahmedabad air traffic control at the same time.

Boeing declined to comment on the meeting. “We are not going to comment on that. As we have said, our thoughts are with the loved ones of all those affected by Air India Flight 171. We are focused on supporting the investigation and our customer,” a company spokesperson said.

Air India did not respond to a request for comment.

On the same day, Chandrasekaran visited Air India’s headquarters and its training academy, where he addressed about 700 employees and senior leadership in the aftermath of the tragedy.

“I have seen a reasonable number of crises in my career, but this is the most heartbreaking one which I never thought I would see,” he said, according to sources.

He also urged employees to remain resilient and use the tragedy as a turning point to build a “safer airline”.