Air India crash investigation focuses on captain who was confronted by 'panicked' co-pilot over fuel switches
A black-box recording of their conversation suggests that it was Captain Sumeet Sabharwal who turned off the switches, according to sources close to the U.S. side of the probe.
The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. pilots who have reviewed the Indian investigation believe first officer Clive Kunder, who was flying the aircraft, would probably have had his hands full trying to keep the Boeing Dreamliner steady. That responsibility would have left the captain, who was acting as the monitoring pilot, free to oversee the operation and possibly make adjustments.
Investigation: A probe into the Air India plane crash is now allegedly looking at Captain Sumeet Sabharwal's medical records amid allegations that he had depression and mental health issues
According to the official report, two crucial switches were flipped off one after the other, exactly a second apart. Ten seconds later, both switches were turned back on.
The switches' 'locking feature' meant pilots had to lift them up before changing their position - they are not simple push buttons that can be accidentally turned off.
In a preliminary summary of the exchange between pilots, one asked the other why he moved the switches, while the other denied doing so.
The jetliner slammed into the ground near Ahmedabad airport, bursting into flames and killing all but one of the 242 people on board.
The report comes after investigators focused on the pilots' medical records as it's claimed the caption suffered from depression and mental health issues.
Captain Mohan Ranganathan, a leading aviation safety expert in India, has revealed that 'several' Air India pilots had allegedly confirmed that Sabharwal had suffered from poor mental health.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, he claimed: 'He had taken time off from flying in the last three to four years. He had taken medical leave for that.
Captain Sabharwal is also understood to have taken bereavement leave after the death of his mother, Ranganathan believes that he had been 'medically cleared' by Air India prior to the fatal crash last month.
In Powai, Mumbai, one of Captain Sabharwal's former colleagues described him as a 'thorough gentleman', telling the publication that he believed 'he was actually considering early retirement in the next couple of years', with plans to look after his elderly father, aged 90.
In his short career, co-pilot Clive Kunder, 28, had logged more than 3,400 hours.
The Telegraph said that while Air India declined to comment, an official working with their parent company, Tata Group, told the publication that Captain Sabharwal had not taken any medical leave, with the preliminary report failing to obtain any significant findings. They added that within the last two years, both pilots onboard the flight had passed the Class I medical exam, which makes an evaluation of their psycho-physical capabilities.
On Sunday, a preliminary report released by the Indian authorities 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.
The report said: '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.'
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.
The report added 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, both switches were found in the 'run' position.
Final moments: After losing altitude, it came into contact with Building A at 293ft at the angle illustrated above
Before the flight, both pilots had an adequate rest period and were found 'fit to operate' following a breathalyzer 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.
But Ranganthan previously 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.
Explaining that he believed it 'had to be done manually', 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'.
But relatives of some of the victims of the crash 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,' Siddiqui told The Telegraph, adding: '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?'
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.'
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