Ahmedabad Crash: Pilots' Bodies Decry 'Tone' of Preliminary Report, Insinuation of Pilot Error

The Wire

14-07-2025

'To casually suggest pilot suicide in the absence of verified evidence is a gross violation of ethical reporting and a disservice to the dignity of the profession,' Indian Commercial Pilots Association said.
Wreckage of the crashed Air India plane in Ahmedabad. Photo: PTI
New Delhi: The Indian Commercial Pilots Association is among pilots' bodies which have condemned insinuation of pilot error in the aftermath of the release of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's preliminary investigation report into the June 12 crash of Air India flight AI 171.
The preliminary report put the toll at 260 lives, including 241 of the 242 people on board, including the two pilots.
A key point in the report that many have latched on to is that the two engine fuel cutoff switches transitioned from 'RUN' to 'CUTOFF' position one after another with a time gap of less than a second. In the cockpit voice recording, the findings revealed, one of the pilots can be heard asking the other why he cut off the fuel, to which the other pilot responded that he did not. There is no detail on the pilots' conversation before and after these lines.
As noted by Reuters, it did not identify which remarks were made by the flight's captain and which by the first officer, nor which pilot transmitted "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday" just before the crash.
The Indian Commercial Pilots Association has around 1,000 pilots employed in scheduled airlines in India. It called the suggestions that pilot suicide was the reason behind the crash 'reckless and unfounded', reports Indian Express, in addition to being 'irresponsible' and 'deeply insensitive'.
The association called upon media organisations and commentators to act with "restraint, empathy, and respect for due process."
It noted that the crew of the plane deserved support, not "vilification based on conjecture."
'To casually suggest pilot suicide in the absence of verified evidence is a gross violation of ethical reporting and a disservice to the dignity of the profession," it said.
The plane was commanded by 56-year-0ld Sumeet Sabharwal whose flying experience comprised 15,638 hours, and 32-year-old Clive Kunder who had 3,403 hours of experience.
The Airline Pilots' Association of India, has also criticised the report for its 'tone and direction' that suggested 'bias towards pilot error'.
"ALPA-I categorically rejects this presumption and insists on a fair, fact-based inquiry,' ALPA-I president Sam Thomas said, according to the Express report. The pilots' body also reiterated its request to be included 'at the very least, as observers' in the air crash investigation.
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