AI 171 crash: AAIB slams 'irresponsible conclusions' after US media claims says Captain 'turned off fuel switches'
' The bureau issued this statement after The WSJ in its latest report on the issue said, '…captain turned off switches that controlled fuel flowing to the plane's two engines' accidentally or deliberately, citing people familiar with US officials' early assessment of evidence uncovered in the crash investigation.
'The first officer who was flying the Boeing 787 Dreamliner asked the more-experienced captain why he moved the switches to the 'cutoff' position after it climbed off the runway, these people said.
The first officer expressed surprise and then panicked, these people said, while the captain seemed to remain calm,' the WSJ report adds. TOI has not independently verified these claims.
While promising regular updates into the probe, AAIB said Thursday: 'Certain sections of the international media are repeatedly attempting to draw conclusions through selective and unverified reporting. Such actions are irresponsible, especially while the investigation remains ongoing… essential to respect the sensitivity of the loss faced by family members of deceased passengers, crew of the aircraft and other deceased persons on ground.
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'The purpose of AAIB's investigation and preliminary report is to provide information about 'WHAT' happened. The preliminary report has to be seen in this light. At this stage, it is too early to reach to any definite conclusions. The investigation by AAIB is still not complete. The final investigation report will come out with root causes and recommendations ,' AAIB said.
The AAIB's prelim report has been panned by experts and pilots for selective indirect quoting of the cockpit voice recorder and on several other grounds.
Many seasoned aviators in India say the prelim report seems to predictably shield the original equipment manufacturer (Boeing, in this case) while putting the blame squarely on a pilot who is no longer around to defend himself.
AAIB has now defended itself after drawing massive flak since last Saturday: 'AAIB has a flawless record in investigating 92 accidents and 111 serious incidents since its inception in 2012… The VT-ANB (AI 171) accident has been the most devastating accident in recent aviation history and the investigation is being undertaken in a rigorous and most professional manner in accordance with the AAIB Rules and international protocols… not the time to create public anxiety or angst towards safety of Indian aviation industry, particularly on basis of unfounded facts.
'
There has been a massive outcry against the prelim report which has spawned the suicide theory. Perhaps in a damage control move, Union aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu hours after its release last Saturday urged people not to 'jump to conclusions' and 'wait for the final (probe) report.' Air India MD & CEO has said the report has 'opened additional questions' and also requested 'everyone to avoid drawing premature conclusions as the investigation is far from over.
'
After the first Boeing 737MAX of Indonesia's Lion Air crash in October 2019 also, fingers were pointed at pilot — one of who was an Indian — error. It took a second B737 MAX crash, of Ethiopian barely five months later in March 2019, that led to discovery of a major flaw in a software of the plane and led to its global grounding. To be fair, the B787 Dreamliner has had its share of technical issues but had never seen a crash since it started flying in Dec 2009, till June 12, 2025.
While there is no information apart from the prelim report in India — where the crash happened on an Indian carrier — US authorities have been speaking to the media and giving out alleged information that seems to be giving a clean chit to compatriot Boeing while blaming the dead Indian pilot.
The preliminary report had identified that first officer Clive Kunder was the pilot flying the doomed AI 171 while Captain Sumeet Sabharwal was the pilot monitoring.
Without mentioning who said what, the report had said: ''One of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so.' It was generally inferred that the pilot flying had his hands full and so the one monitoring could have toggled the switch.
Now the WSJ report quotes 'people familiar with the matter' that the Captain had turned off the switches. 'The report didn't say whether turning off the switches might have been accidental or deliberate,' the latest news report says.
'The preliminary details have fuelled the belief among some US officials that criminal authorities should review the matter, as would likely be the case if the crash had occurred on American soil, people familiar with the matter said. In the US, accident investigators historically have involved agencies such as the FBI if they believe a potential crime occurred, rather than a safety mishap,' the WSJ says.
'Contents of the flight's cockpit voice recorders have been tightly held by Indian authorities and seen as key to helping fill out the sequence of events in the flight's final moments. Jennifer Homendy, chairwoman of the US National Transportation Safety Board, has sought to listen to the recording herself, according to people familiar with the matter,' it adds.
Homendy's goal, according to WSJ, in working with Indian authorities was 'to quickly determine whether the crash presented any immediate safety concerns to the traveling public.'
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