Air India captain in mental health probe ‘stayed calm while he deliberately cut off fuel switch sparking copilot panic'
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal — the 56-year-old veteran at the controls of
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Captain Sumeet Sabharwal was the lead pilot in the doomed Air India flight
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A firefighter stands next to the crashed Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, in Ahmedabad, India
Credit: Reuters
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A cockpit view of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft shows the fuel switch; Annotations by The Sun Graphics
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An image showing how the fuel cut off switches have to be deliberately 'unlocked' before being moved
US experts told the
First Officer Clive Kunder reportedly asked: 'Why did you cut off?'
The captain then replied: 'I didn't.'
Sabharwal, eerily, stayed calm as the aircraft plunged.
More on Air India crash
The
Only one person on board
The voice recorder captured the cockpit drama, but the actions that sealed the plane's fate
Now, new details from the US probe are zeroing in on Sabharwal.
Most read in The Sun
Sources familiar with the American investigation said it was he who reached for the fuel control switches after the Dreamliner had just climbed off the runway.
The co-pilot, stunned, asked why. Then he panicked. Sabharwal stayed composed.
US officials familiar with the evidence told the WSJ the switches were moved to the "cutoff" position in quick succession - one second apart.
Ten seconds later, they were flipped back on. But by then, both engines had already flamed out and crash was imminent.
'Human hand' HAD to be involved in Air India crash disaster, pilot says…as he reveals billions-to-one odds of tech fault
A calm captain & panicked co-pilot
Kunder was flying the aircraft, and his hands were on the controls.
Sabharwal, as the monitoring pilot, would likely have had his hands free.
That's a key distinction, US pilots and safety experts say, and one that points toward who had the opportunity to touch the guarded fuel switches.
But people familiar with the cockpit recordings and US officials' review say the black box strongly suggests it was Sabharwal who moved them.
Ben Berman, a former senior NTSB official, told the WSJ: 'There was nothing to prompt the crew to perform emergency procedures, become stressed, or do anything except rotate the nose up and retract the landing gear, like they had done so many times before.'
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The plane seconds before disaster
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Tail of the doomed Air India flight
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Clive Kunder was the co-pilot on the doomed flight
Credit: Pixel8000
'Human hand' behind the error
Captain Steve Scheibner, an aviation expert and seasoned pilot, believes the deadly Air India crash may have been the result of a human act inside the cockpit.
He suggested
He told Piers Morgan Uncensored: 'I really firmly believe that there had to be a human hand on both of those for them to go to cut off."
The switches - guarded and located between the pilots - require deliberate action to move. Accidental flicking is virtually impossible.
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
Scheibner said the offs of a dual engine flameout on a Boeing 787 seconds after takeoff were "two and a half billion to one".
"Everything just seems unbelievable," he added.
'When you place both fuel cutoff switches to cut off, that will fuel-starve the engines and they'll both flame out.
'There is no universe where there's any procedure ever in the history of commercial flight where you place both fuel control switches to cut off, leave them there for 10 seconds, right after rotate.'
Former pilot
'I can't see why any pilot would have their hands anywhere near the area where these switches are located.'
Who was Sumeet Sabharwal?
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal was no novice.
With over 15,000 flying hours — more than 8,000 on the Dreamliner — he had long been considered steady and reliable.
Friends described him as soft-spoken, precise, even minimalist.
'He was a very reserved guy right from the beginning,' said fellow pilot Kapil Kohal.
Known as 'Sad Sack' in flight school for his solemn demeanor, Sabharwal lived simply.
Two shirts, two shoes, one bag.
'He was a middle-class boy looking at the sky and saying, 'I want to be there,'' Kohal said.
But in recent years, Sabharwal had faced personal struggles.
He was reportedly just
Some aviation sources told The Telegraph he had taken time off in past years for mental health issues.
Though he passed a Class I medical exam in September 2024, investigators are now combing through his records.
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Captain Steve Scheibner believes the Air India crash may have been a result of a human act inside the cockpit, not an accident
Credit: Piers Morgan Uncensored
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Landing gear of the Air India plane crashed directly on the BJ Medical College UG hostel mess
Credit: Getty
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The Boeing 787 Dreamliner plummeted into a doctors' hostel
Investigation intensifies
US officials believe the crash may warrant a criminal investigation — something that would be automatic if the tragedy had happened on American soil.
In similar cases, the FBI would be brought in to assess whether a deliberate act had occurred.
Jennifer Homendy, chair of the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), has been fully briefed on the cockpit recordings and flight data, and is pushing for clarity.
Her priority, she said, is 'to quickly determine whether the crash presented any immediate safety concerns to the travelling public.'
So far, Boeing, GE Aerospace, and the FAA have issued no warnings or directives following the crash.
The
Air India's CEO Campbell Wilson has urged staff not to jump to conclusions.
'The preliminary report identified no cause nor made any recommendations,' he said.
'It provided both greater clarity and opened additional questions.'
Indian authorities, meanwhile, have declined to comment on the American reports.
A Ministry of Civil Aviation press officer dismissed the Wall Street Journal's reporting as 'one-sided.'
You're Not Alone
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide
It doesn't discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It's the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet it's rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
That is why The Sun launched the You're Not Alone campaign.
The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives.
Let's all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others…
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
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