N Chandrasekaran says an engine on the plane has been new

One of the engines of the Air India aircraft, which crashed last week, was new, while the other was not due to the service until December, said the airline chairman.

In an interview with Indian news channel N Chandrasekaran, he said both engines of the aircraft have a “clean” history.

“The right engine was a new engine, set in March 2025. The left engine was last serviced in 2023 and is about to have a next maintenance check in December 2025,” he told Times Now Channel.

At least 270 people, most of them passengers, were killed last Thursday when the AI171, tied to London Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed less than a minute after flying out of Ahmedabad airport in Western India.

Investigators are already sifting debris and decoding recorded field data and audio in the cockpit – from planes Black boxes that are found – to deconstruct the last moments of flight and Determine the cause of the incidentS

“There is a lot of speculation and many theories. But the fact that I know so far is this particular aircraft, this specific tail, AI171, has a pure story,” said G -n Chandrasekaran, warning people not to jump to conclusions.

“They tell me all the experts that the black box and the recorders will definitely tell the story. So we just have to wait for that,” he added.

Kishor Chinta, a former investigator at the Indian Bureau of Aircraft Investigation Bureau, told the BBC that the airplane condition is not necessarily related to its age-especially in the case of GENX-1B engines used on the Boeing 787-8.

“The engine age is not relevant to engine health, especially for Genx-1B engines,” Mr Chinta said. In other words, just because the engine is new, it does not necessarily mean that it is healthy or vice versa.

Unlike older models, Genx-1B engines made by GE Aerospace do not follow a fixed repair or maintenance schedule. Instead, they are equipped with a system called Full Author Digital Engine Control or FADEC, which is constantly monitoring the health and performance of the engine. The solution to servicing or replacing the engine is based on these data and physical inspections.

However, Chinta indicated that some engine components known as Life Limited Parts (LLP) still have a fixed life, usually between 15,000 and 20,000 cycles.

“Each start and switching off of the engine is reported for one cycle,” he explained.

While the investigation continues, Air India has also announced a 15% reduction in its international wide -body aircraft until mid -July as it is fighting the disaster.

In a statement published on Wednesday, the airline said the decision was conditioned by “complex circumstances” – including enhanced safety checks, increased caution on the part of the crew and ground staff and tensions in the Middle East.

Separately, the airline stated that the inspections were completed on 26 of its plane 33 Boeing 787-8 and 787-9, all of which were “released for service”.

The Aviation Indian regulator has ordered additional checks on the Boeing 787 fleet of Air India in India after a deadly disaster as a “preventive measure”.

Other planes are expected to be viewed in the coming days, Air India said, adding that the airline’s Boeing 777 fleet will also “take improved safety checks.”

“The cuts are a painful measure, but they are needed after a devastating event we are still working through, and an unusual combination of external events,” the message said.

Meanwhile, some experts say the crash is likely to have impact on Air India while trying to transform from the problematic state carrier to a private company.

Tata Sons, a conglomerate that also owns large brands such as Tetley Tea and Jaguar Land Rover, brought the airline – a former Indian national carrier – from the Indian government in 2022.

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