The June tragedy with Air India Flight 171 is not just a story of mechanical failure; it is an indictment of how global aviation balances safety, regulation, and profit. When a modern aircraft carrying hundreds of passengers falls from the sky within minutes of take-off, the public’s first instinct is to look for a clear technical cause. Yet, as the investigation unfolds, the issue is less about a single defective part and more about a culture of complacency that allows known risks to linger behind technical advisories and legal disclaimers.

At the heart of the Ahmedabad crash lies a fuel control switch whose movement from “run” to “cut-off” allegedly starved the engines of thrust. This is not an obscure component buried in the recesses of a jetliner; it is a crucial link in the chain of

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