Air India Crash Probe: Aviation Experts Question Claims Made By US Media Over Plane's Fuel Switch Row

Indian aviation expert dismissed claims made in the Wall Street Journal report on the Air India Al171 crash regarding the chances of the flight commander switching off the fuel controls while the official preliminary report by the Indian aircraft accident body only contains a short pilot denial and lacks the full cockpit voice recorder transcript.

The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) expressed dissatisfaction with the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's (AAIB) preliminary probe report on the June 12 Air India plane crash, which was released last week. Sources told PTI that the pilots' body has penned a letter to the civil aviation ministry raising various concerns related to the crash probe.

On June 12, Air India's AI 171, a Boeing 787-8 plane, operating between Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport and London Gatwick Airport, crashed into Ahmedabad's B J Medical College within 32 seconds after taking off due to several technical glitches.

The preliminary investigation by the AAIB was released exactly a month later, on July 12.

The two pilots involved were Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder, who had a total flying experience of 15,638 hours and 3,403 hours. 

What Did Wall Street Journal Report Say?

According to a Wall Street Journal report, the first officer of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner questioned the more experienced captain shortly after takeoff about why he had moved the engine switches to the "cutoff" position.

Citing a preliminary report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), the Wall Street Journal notes that the fuel cutoff switches for both engines were moved to the "cutoff" position within a one-second interval, just moments after liftoff. The aircraft crashed 32 seconds after takeoff.

Experts, Indian Pilots' Bodies React

Aviation expert Sanjay Lazar questioned why the full cockpit voice recorder (CVR) transcript was not shared in the preliminary report by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and said it is worrying that a foreign media outlet appears to have more information than Indian authorities or the public.

Speaking to ANI, Sanjay Lazar said, "The Wall Street Journal this morning has released a report, which suggested that the commander of the flight Al171 had undone the fuel switches. The preliminary report of the AAIB of India has only released a single statement, a very bold statement, which says, "Why did you cut it off? And the pilot replied, No, I did not." Given this single statement, I do not believe that there is ample scope for us to make a determination. The preliminary report failed to provide the entire transcript of the CVR. What is strange is that the AAIB preliminary report is being disclosed and leaked in the United States. And that brings a greater worry for all of us in India because this is an independent organisation controlled by the government of India. Yet the Wall Street Journal seems to know more about it than any of us in India, our parliament, or the Civil Aviation Ministry."

Earlier, underscoring the possibility of a bias towards pilot error in the preliminary report, the Air Line Pilots' Association of India (ALPA) on Saturday demanded a fair and fact-based probe.

"The tone and direction of the investigation suggest a bias towards pilot error... ALPA India categorically rejects this presumption and insists on a fair, fact-based inquiry," Airline Pilots' Association of India (ALPA) said in a statement.

FIP has also objected to the exclusion of pilot representatives from the investigation and called for a thorough, transparent, and data-driven probe before any conclusions were drawn.

“Assigning blame before a complete and fair investigation is both premature and irresponsible. Such commentary undermines the professionalism of trained crew members and causes unnecessary distress to their families and colleagues,” the FIP said in a statement.

The preliminary report had sparked speculation about the cause of the crash. “The report lacks comprehensive data and appears to rely on selective paraphrasing to question the competence and integrity of the crew. This approach is neither objective nor complete,” the FIP noted, urging the public to refrain from drawing conclusions based on initial findings.

The report had focused on the operation of a fuel control switch. In its preliminary report, AAIB found that the fuel supply to both engines of Air India flight AI171 was cut off, which caused confusion in the cockpit and led to the plane crash.

The preliminary findings mentioned that both fuel control switches of the Boeing 787 aircraft were flipped from “RUN” to “CUTOFF” within seconds of take-off from Ahmedabad, which led to engine shutdown. One of the pilots was heard asking the other why he cut off, and the latter responded, saying he did not do.

According to media reports, the question over the fuel control switch prompted India’s aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), to order inspections of the locking mechanisms across Boeing 787 and 737 fleets.

Following this, Air India confirmed that its engineers had completed the inspections and found no issues with the fuel switches.

The Ahmedabad-London Air India flight crashed seconds after take-off on June 12, killing all 260 people on board, including 241 passengers.

The preliminary investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) was released exactly a month later, on July 12.