Co-Pilot of Doomed Flight Thought Captain Turned Off Fuel Switches Just Before Crash, Investigation Continues: Reports

Yahoo

17-07-2025

NEED TO KNOW
The co-pilot on the Air India flight that crashed on June 12 thought the captain turned off the plane's fuel switches shortly before the fatal crash, according to a new report
The report suggests the co-pilot officer was panicked, while the captain was calm shortly before the crash near the airport in Ahmedabad
Of the 242 people on the July 12 flight to London, 241 diedThe co-pilot on the doomed Air India flight thought the captain may have turned off the plane's fuel switches shortly before the fatal crash, according to reports.
A black box recording from the ill-fated Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner suggests the captain of the flight turned off the plane's fuel switches, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited "people familiar with U.S. officials' early assessment of evidence uncovered in the crash investigation."
According to The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, those familiar with the recording said the co-pilot officer asked the captain why the switches were put in the 'cutoff' position and seemed panicked, while the captain seemed calm. The interaction reveals for the first time who said what in the flight deck, Bloomberg noted.
This account appears to corroborate information laid out in a preliminary report about the crash released one month after the crash. That report, published by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau on Saturday, July 12, stated that fuel to the aircraft's engines was cut off as it traveled from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad to London's Gatwick Airport.
Black box audio from the cockpit recorded 'one of the pilots … asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so,' per the report.
'At about 08:09:05 UTC, one of the pilots transmitted 'MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY,' " the report added.
In a statement shared on Thursday, July 17, the Aviation Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said, 'We urge both the public and the media to refrain from spreading premature narratives that risk undermining the integrity of the investigative process.'
The AAIB also said, 'at this stage, it is too early to reach to any definite conclusions,' adding that the investigation into the crash 'is still not complete.'
Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, was the captain of the Air India flight, which crashed a short distance away from the airport in Ahmedabad. Clive Kunder, who was in his 30s, was the co-pilot.
Kunder had 1,100 hours of flight experience, while Sabharwal had 8,200, The Economic Times previously reported.
Kunder was the cousin of Bollywood star Vikrant Massey, who paid tribute to his late family member on Instagram shortly after the crash on June 12.
'My heart breaks for the families & loved ones of the ones who lost their lives in the unimaginably tragic air crash in Ahmedabad today,' Massey wrote.
'It pains me even more to know that my uncle, Clifford Kunder lost his son, Clive Kunder who was the 1st officer operating on that fateful flight,' he added. 'May God give strength to you and your family uncle and to all deeply affected.'
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In total, 241 of the 242 people on board the AIr India flight died in the crash. Only one person survived.
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