'Why did he cut it off?': Questions over whether Air India pilot to blame for fatal crash that killed 53 Brits as cockpit recordings released

Daily Mail​

3 days ago

A preliminary report into the Air India plane crash has raised questions into whether the pilot was to blame for the disaster which killed 260 people, including 53 Brits.
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, an experienced pilot with more than 8,200 hours in the cockpit, was piloting the Boeing 787 Dreamliner when it plummeted into a residential area, called Meghani Nagar, while claiming 19 more lives of those on the ground.
Seconds after taking off on June 12, two fuel switches in the cockpit of Air India Flight 171 were turned off shortly after take off, resulting in a catastrophic loss of power and the aircraft crashing to the ground.
The switches' 'locking feature' meant pilots had to lift them up before changing their position, they are not simple push buttons which can be accidentally turned off.
The report says: 'In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other: why did he cut off? The other pilot responded that he did not do so.'
It has led to questions about why the pilot would have manually turned the switches off - and whether it was a deliberate act or a catastrophic mistake.
Pilots will turn the fuel switches on and off at the correct times in every flight, but this time the fuel was cut off straight after takeoff and the landing gear was not raised.
The co-pilot was flying the aircraft at the time of takeoff while the captain was monitoring.
Seconds after taking off on June 12, two fuel switches in the cockpit of Air India Flight 171 were turned off shortly after take off
The report said that the switches were flipped back to 'run' seconds afterwards, which started the process of relighting the engines.
One of the engines had relit but had not gained power while the other was in the process of regaining power.
At the crash site, but switches were found in the 'run' position.
Before the flight, both pilots had an adequate rest period and were found 'fit to operate' following a breath analyser test, the report said.
There were no dangerous goods on the plane and the weight was 'within allowable limits'.
Fuel samples taken from the tanks were tested and found to be 'satisfactory' and there was 'no significant bird activity' observed in and around the flight path of the aircraft.
One of India's leading aviation experts, Captain Mohan Ranganthan, suggested it may have been deliberate.
Each lever has to be pulled upwards to be unlocked, before it can be flipped and they also have further protective guard brackets to safeguard against any bumps and nudges.
The plane momentarily disappeared from view behind trees and buildings before a massive fireball erupted on the horizon in this horrifying clip
'It has to be done manually, it cannot be done automatically or due to a power failure,' Captain Ranganathan told NDTV of the fuel levers. 'The fuel selectors they aren't the sliding type they are always in a slot.
'They are to pull them out or move them up or down, so the question of them moving inadvertently out of off position doesn't happen. It's a case of deliberate manual selection.'
He later said 'nothing else' would explain why both switches were moved into the off position just after take off, alleging: 'It had to be deliberately done.'
When questioned if he was suggesting one of the pilots 'deliberately' switched off the fuel lever, while fully aware of the possibility of a crash, he answered: 'Absolutely', before asserting they were looking at a potential 'pilot-induced crash.'
However, relatives of some of the victims have accused the airline and the Indian government of trying to blame the pilots for the crash.
Ameen Siddiqui, 28, whose brother-in-law, Akeel Nanabawa, died alongside his wife and their four-year-old daughter said: 'This report is wrong. We don't accept it.'
'It's a cover-up to protect Air India and the government,' Mr Siddiqui told The Telegraph from Surat, south of Ahmedabad, where the plane crashed.
'They want to blame dead pilots who can't defend themselves. How can the fuel switches end up turning off at a critical moment, either through pilot error or a mechanical fault?
People look at the debris of an Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad of India's Gujarat state
CCTV footage from the airport showed that the ram air turbine, known as the RAT, was deployed shortly after takeoff.
The RAT acts as a backup power source during emergencies and will deploy in cases of complete power failure.
The report said two minutes after takeoff, one of the pilots transmitted: 'Mayday, Mayday, Mayday'.
December 2018 the US air regulator Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned airlines that fuel switches had been installed in some Boeing 737s 'with the locking feature disengaged'.
'If the locking feature is disengaged, the switch can be moved between the two positions without lifting the switch during transition, and the switch would be exposed to the potential of inadvertent operation,' the FAA warned in a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin.
'Inadvertent operation of the switch could result in an unintended consequence, such as an in-flight engine shutdown.'
It recommended airlines inspect the switches, including 'whether the fuel control switch can be moved between the two positions without lifting up the switch'.
The airworthiness concern was not considered an unsafe condition that would warrant a legally enforceable regulation to correct unsafe conditions.
Air India has suggested such inspections were not carried out because the FAA's bulletin was 'advisory and not mandatory'.
Boeing was forced to ground its 737 Max model for more than a year after two fatal crashes, leading to concerns around the reliability of Boeing's machinery and software.
Air India, the nation's oldest airline, has been trying to revitalise its operations after several years under government control.
The airline company says Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who was flying the plane, had more than 10,000 hours of experience on wide-body jets, while co-pilot Clive Kunder had logged over 3,400 hours.
The crash marked the first fatal incident involving a Dreamliner and was a major setback for Boeing, which is facing ongoing scrutiny over its aircraft safety standards.
The US National Transportation Safety Board is assisting with the Indian-led investigation, while the Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing and GE Aerospace are providing technical support. It declined to comment on the release of the report.
Reports indicate there have been tensions building between American and Indian officials.
One of the biggest points of contention is the delay in accessing and analysing the plane's black boxes.
The Americans are not pleased with the slow pace at which data is being extracted from the cockpit voice and data recorders.
A view of the site where a plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in India's western state of Gujarat on June 12, 2025
The US team at one point even considered pulling out of the probe before eventually deciding to carry on.
The US investigators have since returned home.
The Dreamliner, which was first delivered to Air India in 2012, has been used for many international routes.
Although officials have initially focused on the fuel control switches, they have cautioned nothing has yet been ruled out yet.
Sole survivor Vishwash Kumar Ramesh had been in the country on a business trip with his brother Ajaykumar, 35, before they boarded the doomed flight travelling from Ahmedabad to Gatwick on Thursday.
In what has been described as a miracle, Viswash - seated in 11A by the exit - survived, but his sibling who was sat on the other side of the aisle in seat 11J perished in the fireball explosion.
Before the discovery of the British survivor, authorities said that they believed no one had escaped the flight alive.
Eleven of those on board were children, including two newborns.
An Air India spokesperson previously said: 'Air India stands in solidarity with the families and those affected by the AI171 accident. We continue to mourn the loss and are fully committed to providing support during this difficult time. We acknowledge receipt of the preliminary report released by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) today, 12 July 2025.
'Air India is working closely with stakeholders, including regulators. We continue to fully cooperate with the AAIB and other authorities as their investigation progresses.
'Given the active nature of the investigation, we are unable to comment on specific details and refer all such enquiries to the AAIB.'