Air India Crash: US report points to pilot error, FIP raises concerns

A fresh US assessment of the Air India AI 171 crash has cited cockpit voice recordings indicating the captain may have deliberately turned off fuel flow to the engines, leading to the fatal crash in Ahmedabad. The Wall Street Journal, referencing unnamed US officials, claimed the black box data revealed that Captain Sumeet Sabharwal moved the fuel control switches from "run" to "cutoff" shortly after takeoff. The move was questioned by First Officer Clive Kunder moments before the aircraft crashed into the BJ Medical College hostel, killing all 260 people aboard and on the ground.

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India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) had earlier released a preliminary report confirming that the Boeing 787’s fuel control switches were flipped seconds apart, causing both engines to shut down after takeoff. However, the report stopped short of attributing the action directly to either pilot. In response, the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) criticised the report's public interpretation, calling it premature and lacking pilot representation in the investigation process.

While US data points to potential pilot error, Indian pilot bodies are demanding a transparent and data-backed inquiry before assigning blame.