Tata’s Toughest Flight Yet

THE TAKE 

Speculation Swirls, But Air India’s Real Challenge Is Within

A pilot friend posted on a common group that the verdict on how the Ahmedabad–London Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed barely a minute after take-off is already out—at least if you believe the self-styled experts posting on social media or appearing on television channels.

Another set of pilots are convinced it was an equipment failure of some sort, possibly due to maintenance oversight. Many of them believe, quite strongly, that the airline will attempt to cover it up.

Interestingly, some of the pilots expressing that belief are themselves active Air India pilots.

At this point, there isn’t enough information to establish what really happened on the afternoon of June 12, 2025.

At last count, around 270 people have died in what is now one of India’s worst aviation disasters. 

The Boeing 787 struck a hostel building in a residential area of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground.

One passenger survived.

Meanwhile, so-called aviation experts on YouTube have been dissecting every bit of available video and audio, offering their own analyses, which are now rapidly circulating across social media.

Fast Verdicts, Slow Facts

One pilot and YouTuber, who claims to fly Boeing 777s, initially concluded that pilot error was possible. He clarified that this was just his opinion at the time. A day later, he posted again, noting that the activation of the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) suggested a total power loss, thereby increasing the likelihood of equipment failure and reducing the chance of pilot error.

His disclaimers in both posts don’t really matter in the larger scheme of things. 

Views like his eventually coalesce into a larger whirlpool of noise, where expert opinion quickly transitions into “expert theory” in other people’s words.

The media is a key culprit here.

Speaking of which, Air India’s CEO, Campbell Wilson, was reasonably quick to release a video message to the public by 7 PM that same evening. 

“Reasonably quick” in the context of how long top management usually takes to stand up and own the situation, even when the cause isn’t yet known.

But the crash and its aftermath reflect the deeper challenges Air India continues to face internally—more than three years after its ownership shifted from the Government of India to the Tata Group.

While most pilots are loyal to their craft and skill rather than to the airline itself, it’s no secret that Air India pilots exhibit a level of disgruntlement that’s unusually high for their profession.

And it’s not just the pilots. Air India’s toxic work culture, created and nurtured over decades of government ownership, had seeped into nearly every department.

At one point, the airline had close to 20 unions of all shapes and sizes, including multiple pilot unions, further split between older and younger pilots.

Much of that has changed in recent years. Air India has been churning staff at a rapid pace since the Tata takeover. This shift is evident both on the ground and in the air.

But many old-timers—including pilots—are still around. 

And, unusually, the change in ownership has done little to change their perception of the owner, whether it was the government then or the Tatas now.

Old Wounds Linger

It’s difficult to say from the outside what drives this deep-rooted angst, except to acknowledge that it exists, and at levels that are clearly unhealthy.

This discontent is visible in cockpits too. Not in the way aircraft are flown, but in the complete silence during flights. 

I’ve witnessed this myself. 

On a 14 hour JFK–Delhi flight two years ago, there wasn’t a single announcement from the cockpit—not before takeoff, nor before landing—times when it is usually customary for the captain to speak.

When I asked a few pilots about this silence, they explained that while there’s no mandatory rule requiring pilots to address passengers, most do—anywhere in the world.

Coming back to the accident, it’s almost certain that the investigation findings will lead to blame being passed around. That’s regardless of where, or on whom, the hammer ultimately lands.

Based on past patterns, we can also expect political involvement and a fresh round of mudslinging as well.

The Tatas clearly realise the sensitivity of the moment. 

They’ve already announced a Rs 1 crore ex gratia payment for the families of all those killed, both on board and on the ground, where the aircraft crashed.

There will be other legal liability, mostly.

But no matter what the findings say, the Tatas will now have to lead from the back, so to speak.

 Their priority must be to stabilise the rank and file as the airline navigates this incredibly challenging phase.

The external blame game will likely be beyond their control. 

But the internal rifts and accumulated stress are not. And unless they get a grip on these issues, the airline cannot truly emerge from this tragic and difficult moment.

How the Tatas handle this phase will hold lessons for business leaders and companies far beyond aviation..

CORE NUMBER

Rs 5.38 lakh crore

That’s how much India’s ultra-rich have poured into Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) by March 2025—a 32% surge year-on-year, as per Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) data reported by PTI.

💼 What’s driving the surge?
India’s affluent investors are shifting away from traditional equity-debt mixes amid rising global volatility, seeking safer, more diversified returns in alternatives like private credit, real estate, and hedge funds.

📌 What exactly are AIFs?
AIFs are pooled investment vehicles that invest in non-traditional assets. Unlike mutual funds, they target high net worth individuals and family offices looking for customised strategies with lower correlation to public markets.

Dreamliner Disaster Deepens Scrutiny. India’s aviation regulator has ordered urgent inspections of all Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 Dreamliners flown by Air India after last week’s crash in Ahmedabad—civil aviation’s deadliest in over a decade—Bloomberg reports.

Catch Up Quick: The checks target fuel, engine-control, and hydraulics systems on 33 Dreamliners equipped with GE’s GEnx engines. So far, 9 have been inspected.

The Backstory: Flight AI171, a 787 jet, lost thrust moments after takeoff and crashed into a residential area. It’s the first total loss of a 787 since the aircraft’s global debut over a decade ago.

Conflict Hits Cargo Hard. With the Iran-Israel conflict escalating, India’s exporters are facing delays, insurance gaps, and a 50% spike in shipping costs, prompting the government to consult key trade bodies, Mint reports.

Catch Up Quick: The Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz—vital for Indian exports—have become volatile. Sectors like engineering goods, pharma, textiles, and basmati rice are on alert.

The Impact: Iran, which buys 12% of India’s basmati exports ($757 million in FY25), may miss deliveries before its July harvest. Exporters warn that missing this window could mean massive losses if ports remain blocked or insurers back out.

CAG Audits PSUs. The CAG has created a dedicated vertical to audit 1,600 PSUs across the energy, transport and manufacturing sectors, according to a PTI report. 

Context: Right now, India has about 700 central public sector enterprises, 1,600 state public sector enterprises, 485 central autonomous bodies, and more than 700 state autonomous bodies all over the country. Senior auditors handle 4-5 states, which is time-consuming and delays audits. 

Next Steps: To resolve this issue, the CAG is empaneling chartered accounting firms across 30 cities. The CAG team will then co-opt these firms. But, this move may dilute the independence of the CAG, warned S Venkatesan, Madurai’s Member of Parliament in a letter to President Droupadi Murmu.

ONGC Leak a Pain for Residents. For the past four days, there’s been a persistent gas leakage at an ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited) well in Sivasagar in Assam. A private firm called SK Petro Services runs it.

Backdrop: An ONGC official told PTI that this was an old crude well without active production and that the leak took place during a servicing of the well.

Impact: A senior official in the district administration said that the leak has affected 1,500 people — they say they’re smelling gas and haven’t been able to light their stoves or burn anything. The authorities are providing them with cooked food and have shifted 70 families to a nearby relief camp.

THE SIGNAL DAILY

Will Cinema Theatres Survive the Streaming Era?

India makes more movies than any other country in the world. A lot of us also grew up with a regular habit of going to the cinemas and catching the latest film.

But, COVID changed that. Cooped up in our homes, we got addicted to online streaming platforms, and didn’t change our habits even after the era of social distancing ended.

A 2024 report by media consultancy Ormax found that between 2020 to 2023, there was a 16% decline in how many people said they watched at least one movie at the cinemas that year. Even the Hindi film industry’s success metrics have changed. An Economic Times report said that before 2020, Bollywood saw a movie that earned 100 crores in the cinema as a box office success. But now, that benchmark has gone down to 50 crore rupees. 

In the latest episode of The Signal Daily, available Monday June 16 at 6 pm IST, we speak to Ishaa Soni, a film buff whose cinema habits have drastically changed since COVID. What will make her, and consumers like her, return to the cinema halls? 

The Core produces The Signal Daily. Find us wherever you get your favourite podcasts. To check out the rest of our work, go to www.thecore.in 

👥 THE TEAM

✍️ Zinal Dedhia, Salman SH, Kudrat Wadhwa | ✂️ Rohini Chatterji | 🎧 Joshua Thomas