Fears grow Air India crash was pilot suicide as aviation expert says ‘vanishingly small' chance fuel was cut by accident

The Irish Sun

14-07-2025

FEARS are mounting that the doomed Air India flight was a pilot suicide - as an aviation expert claimed there was a vanishingly small chance the fuel was cut by accident.
Ex-pilot Terry Tozer told The Sun why it was extremely likely that the fuel switches were
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The plane seconds before disaster
Credit: X
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Captain Sumeet Sabharwal was the lead pilot in the doomed Air India flight
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Officials inspect the remains of the Air India passenger plane at the crash site in Ahmedabad
Credit: EPA
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Clive Kunder was the co-pilot on the doomed flight
Credit: Getty
He explained why the plane's lock mechanism meant it was incredibly unlikely the
Tozer said: "The fuel
"And that implies that somebody did that as a conscious human action, because so far as we understand, these switches have a lock mechanism."
He added: "They have to be lifted in order to be moved. Otherwise they lock in position."
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The claims come after the
But aviation experts, like Tozer, have claimed it is almost certainly a case of
Two major commercial pilots' associations rejected claims that human error caused the Boeing to crash and kill 241 people on board and 19 on the ground.
Tozer also explained another piece of evidence which strongly ruled out an electrical or
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He said: "The fact that the fuel cutoff was initiated first with one engine and then the other... kind of implies a conscious lifting of a switch - moving it and lifting it."
The expert said that unless somebody could prove a "weird electromechanical process" caused the switch to move without human intervention, then all evidence indicated that "somebody lifted and moved one switch followed by the other".
Air India victims' families slam 'cover-up' probe as questions remain over possible engine switch confusion
And he said the chance somebody could prove the
He explained: "I find it hard to believe that that something you would do by accident."
But he stopped short of speculating
"And of course, that opens another whole can of worms as to why somebody would do that," he said.
He also told how the report was "probably trying to avoid deliberately pointing a finger" at either of the pilots by not naming which one said "why did you cutoff" in response to the fuel cutoff switches moving.
"The full report will basically come up with final conclusions," he said, adding that not naming them specifically indicated investigators were "very circumspect".
He added: "But of course, if the locking mechanism didn't actually function on this aircraft, you can't entirely rule out the fact that someone inadvertently touched them and they flicked off.
"Having said that, I can't see why any pilot would have their hands anywhere near the area where these switches are located."
He continued: "The first officer was flying the aircraft. Whose hands would have both been on the control column?
"The captain would have been monitoring what was going on. So he had his hands free."
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Wreckage of the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane sits on the ground outside Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport
Credit: Reuters
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Landing gear of the Air India plane crashed directly on the BJ Medical College UG hostel mess
Credit: x/mitrapredator
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A cockpit view of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft shows the fuel switch; Annotations by The Sun Graphics
Credit: Getty
He said that another pilot in India speculated that the pilot committed suicide - but said that this statement was "rather presumptuous because we simply don't know".
The claims came as it was revealed that Air India's CEO backed the doomed fight's pilots in a leaked memo, Reuters reported.
Airline CEO Campbell Wilson said the probe into the horrific crash was far from over and warned it would be unwise to jump to any conclusions.
He said in the memo: "The release of the preliminary report marked the point at which we, along with the world, began receiving additional details about what took place.
"Unsurprisingly, it provided both greater clarity and opened additional questions."
Wilson added: "The preliminary report identified no cause nor made any recommendations, so I urge everyone to avoid drawing premature conclusions as the investigation is far from over."
Key findings of the report:
Dual engine shutdown
- fuel cutoff switches moved from 'RUN' to 'CUTOFF'
Confusion between pilots
- cockpit audio confirms one pilot asked 'why did you cutoff', the other replied 'I didn't'
RAT deployed
- as seen in CCTV footage before the crash
Engine relight attempted
- fuel switches were found returned to the "RUN" at crash site
32 seconds -
the time the
aircraft was airborne before it crashed
Thrust levers mismatch
- Thrust levers found at idle but black box data shows takeoff thrust was still engaged
Fuel test pass
- fuel was clean without any contamination
Normal take-off set-up
- Flaps and landing gear correctly configured
No bird activity
- clear skies, good visibility, light winds
Pilot credentials clear
- both medically fit and rested
No sabotage detected
- although FAA alerted over a known fuel switch vulnerability not checked by Air India
Aircraft loading -
the flight was within weight and balance limits
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner en route to London Gatwick from Indian Ahmedabad began to lose thrust and sink shortly after takeoff,the report released by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said.
The memo also said the preliminary report found no mechanical or maintenance faults, and that all required maintenance had been carried out.
The claims and leaked memo also came as it was revealed the doomed flight's captain was considering quitting early after his mum's death.
Flight AI171 was led by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who was reportedly just
He was looking to retire early and take care of his 92-year-old father Pushkaraj Sabharwal - a former Indian civil aviation official - who became alone after his wife's death.
Savitri Budhania, who lives close to Captain Sabharwal's house, said she once told him that "your father is too old to be living alone".
To which the pilot replied: "Just one or two more flights… then I'm going to just be with Papa."
A leading aviation expert in India also told The Telegraph that Captain Sabharwal suffered from mental health issues and depression - and had taken time off in the last few years following his mum's death.
Captain Mohan Ranganathan, a former instructor pilot of Boeing 737, said: "I have heard from several Air India pilots who told me he had some depression and mental health issues.
"He had taken time off from flying in the last three to four years."
Crash investigators are now said to be
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner with 242 passengers on board - including 53 Brits - smashed into a doctors' hostel in Ahmedabad in the west of India.
The plane was headed to London Gatwick when it crashed just seconds after take-off, killing all but one passenger.
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Tail of the doomed Air India flight
Credit: Reuters
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Vishwash Ramesh, the sole survivor of the Air India crash, poses for the first time since the disaster
Credit: Dan Charity