New Delhi: The investigation into the tragic Air India Flight AI171 crash in Ahmedabad on June 12, which claimed 260 lives, is increasingly focusing on the actions of the flight’s captain, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. A cockpit voice recording reveals that Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a seasoned pilot with over 15,600 hours of flying experience, may have turned off the fuel flow switches to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s engines shortly after takeoff, the WSJ reported, citing sources familiar with U.S. officials’ preliminary findings.
The recording captures a tense exchange between Captain Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder, who had 3,403 hours of flying experience and was operating the aircraft. Kunder reportedly questioned the captain’s decision to move the fuel switches to the “cutoff” position, to which Sabharwal responded that he had not done so. The preliminary report from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), released last week, noted that the fuel switches for both engines were shifted to “cutoff” almost simultaneously, just seconds apart, causing the engines to lose thrust and the plane to crash.
Closed-circuit TV footage showed that a ram air turbine, a backup power source, deployed immediately after takeoff, indicating a loss of engine power. At the crash site, investigators found the fuel switches in the “run” position, with evidence suggesting the engines may have briefly restarted before the low-altitude crash. The plane struck trees and a chimney before hitting a building on a nearby medical college campus, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground.
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The AAIB’s preliminary report did not pinpoint which pilot made which statements or who issued the “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday” call just before the crash. The Wall Street Journal’s findings have drawn criticism from the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), which expressed concern over the preliminary report’s focus on pilot error. India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Boeing, and Air India did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment on the WSJ report.
The investigation, led by the AAIB, continues, with a final report expected within a year, as is standard for such inquiries. The International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA) has urged restraint in drawing conclusions based on the preliminary findings, cautioning against speculation fueled by media and social media.