Air India Flight 171 was airborne for less than 40 seconds before it plunged into a densely-populated neighbourhood in AhmedabadInvestigators now face the grim task of sifting through the wreckage and decoding the cockpit voice and flight data recorders of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to piece together what went catastrophically wrongAgainst the backdrop of the London-bound plane tragedy,

One theory is that the landing gear got stuck and that the pilots partially retracted the flaps to reduce drag in an attempt to keep climbing. However, if overdone, this could cause the plane to lose lift. Another possible cause being considered by investigators is fuel contamination, which can cause a double engine failure.

The data from the recorders can be used to reconstruct the flight's final moments and determine the cause of the incident.