A recording from the doomed Air India jet that crashed moments after take-off, killing all but one person on board, is causing controversy.
When India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released its preliminary findings into the June crash of Air India Flight 171 (which killed all but one of the 260 people on board and 19 more on the ground) many hoped it would provide clarity.
Instead, the 15-page document has raised even more questions, centering on a chilling and unexplained cockpit incident.
Just seconds after the Boeing 787 took off from Ahmedabad, both fuel-control switches (responsible for supplying fuel to the engines) were abruptly moved to the "cut-off" position. This action, typically performed only after landing, caused immediate dual engine shutdown.
The aircraft attempted to recover, with one engine reigniting and regaining some thrust, while the other remained idle. The plane crashed less than a minute into the flight, slamming into a residential area.
A snippet from the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) reveals one pilot asking: “Why did you cut off?” to which the other responds: “I didn’t.”
The report does not specify who said what, adding ambiguity to an already mysterious event. At the time of takeoff, the co-pilot was flying while the captain monitored.
The pilots, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, and First Officer Clive Kunder, 32, were both seasoned aviators, with over 19,000 combined flight hours, and had passed all pre-flight checks.
Despite their experience, speculation has swirled. Some international outlets, including The Wall Street Journal and Reuters, have reported unnamed sources suggesting scrutiny has shifted to the senior pilot.
However, Indian aviation authorities have pushed back hard against this narrative. The AAIB condemned “selective and unverified reporting” as “irresponsible,” while U.S. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy called the leaks “premature and speculative,” urging patience for the full report, expected next year.
Indian pilot unions have also defended the crew, denouncing the rush to assign blame. Sam Thomas, head of the Airline Pilots’ Association of India, emphasized that critical evidence (like aircraft maintenance records, flight data, and the full CVR transcript) has yet to be reviewed publicly.
At the center of the debate is whether the fuel switches were turned off by human action or triggered by a technical fault. Experts warn against rushing to judgment. “Even if we determine who spoke in the recording, it doesn't prove who moved the switches,” one Canada-based air crash investigator said.
Theories range from pilot confusion, to automation glitches, to more sinister possibilities. Some media have suggested a tail fire, but investigators clarified the fuel cut-off caused the crash, not fire, which may have occurred after impact.
AAIB chief GVG Yugandhar emphasized that the report’s purpose is to establish “what” happened, not “why”. As the full investigation unfolds, the aviation world is left grappling with a haunting question: Was it human error, mechanical failure, or something else entirely?
The investigation remains ongoing.