Who were the two pilots who flew the Air India jet that crashed?
NEW DELHI - Investigators probing a deadly Air India crash said in a preliminary report that the aircraft's engine fuel switches were flipped to an off position briefly, leading to confusion in the cockpit and putting focus on the pilots flying the Boeing 787.
Below is a brief profile of the two pilots based on the preliminary investigation report and media reports:
CAPTAIN SUMEET SABHARWAL
The 56-year-old had an airline transport pilot's licence that was valid until May 14, 2026.
He had obtained clearances to fly as pilot-in-command on several aircraft including the Boeing 787 and 777 and the Airbus A310.
He had total flying experience of 15,638 hours, of which 8,596 hours were on a Boeing 787.
Sabharwal had called his family from the airport, assuring them he would ring again after landing in London, according to a Times of India report. A pilot who had briefly interacted with him told Reuters he was a "gentleman."
FIRST OFFICER CLIVE KUNDER
The 32-year-old had a commercial pilot license which was issued in 2020 and valid until September 26, 2025.
He had obtained clearances to fly Cessna 172 and Piper PA-34 Seneca aircraft as pilot-in-command and as co-pilot on Airbus A320 and Boeing 787 jets.
He had total flying experience of 3,403 hours. Of that, 1,128 hours of experience were as a 787 co-pilot.
Since his school-going days Kunder was passionate about flying, and in 2012, began serving as a pilot, Indian media reported, citing his relatives. He joined Air India in 2017. REUTERS
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Straits Times
8 hours ago
- Straits Times
Fuel was cut off during take-off: Preliminary report of Air India crash
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox In the cockpit voice recording, the report says, 'one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cut off. The other pilot responded that he did not do so'. – The fuel control switch went off within three seconds of take-off, leading both engines to shut down moments before the Air India Boeing 787 London-bound flight crashed in Ahmedabad, said a preliminary report by the Indian government. The 15-page report was released by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) late on July 11, detailing findings from its probe into the plane crash on June 12 that killed 260 people – 229 passengers, 12 crew members, and 19 individuals on the ground. Only one passenger miraculously survived. The crux of the preliminary report is its revelation that 'the Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cut-off switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of 01 second'. 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'The fuel control switch cannot be turned off by mistake if the lock system was there. Even if there was an engine problem, like a fire or debris, the pilot would not switch both engines off while airborne,' he said, adding that it sounded like the pilots were surprised when they realised that the fuel switch had turned off and they switched it on again to try and prevent the crash. 'Unfortunately, they couldn't do much in 30 seconds,' Mr Hemanth said. Possible design flaw? Based on the preliminary report, experts are divided on whether to attribute the crash to an aircraft design flaw or human error. The government report says the particular Boeing 787-8 aircraft had a valid airworthiness certificate from 2025. However, it notes that the United States' Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) on Dec 17, 2018, regarding 'the potential disengagement of the fuel control switch locking feature'. 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'Inadvertent operation of the switch could result in an unintended consequence, such as an in-flight engine shutdown,' the SAIB said. The FAA did not deem the issue an 'unsafe condition' mandating corrective action, but recommended that all owners and operators of the affected planes check that the locking feature of the fuel control switch was engaged, and replace the switch if the lock was found to be disengaged. ST has reached out to the FAA with queries. The crash in Ahmedabad has renewed the long-standing concerns about Boeing's safety lapses in manufacturing, which whistleblowers like Mr John Barnett, a former Boeing quality manager, flagged before his mysterious death in 2024 . Denying his accusations, Boeing said that all its aircraft were built to the highest levels of safety and quality. The company insisted that 'safety, quality and integrity are at the core of Boeing's values'. Safety lapse or human error? India's preliminary report says that Air India did not carry out the recommended inspections as 'the SAIB was advisory and not mandatory'. Maintenance records of the crashed aircraft show that the throttle control module was replaced in 2019 and 2023 for reasons not linked to the fuel control switch, but the report also says there was no defect reported on the fuel control switch since 2023. Both fuel control switches going off 'is highly mysterious and needs detailed investigation, especially in light of the December 2018 FAA directive on the fuel control switches', said Mr Sanjay Lazar, chief executive of Pune-based aviation consultation firm Avaialaz Consultants. To know if 'it could have happened mechanically or technically on its own', the complete transcript of the cockpit voice recorder and a probe into the fuel switches are necessary, he added. Retired airline pilot and aircraft safety advisor Captain Mohan Ranganathan told ST that if there was a serious issue in the fuel switch's locking mechanism, the FAA would have insisted on a mandatory fix. 'That it is an advisory means they didn't consider that it can happen,' he said. 'It can only be a deliberate human intervention that moved the fuel switch,' said Capt Ranganathan, given that both fuel switches did not have simultaneous failure, but were cut off one second apart. 'The report has not clearly identified which pilot handled the fuel selector,' he added. Although the report refers to them as 'one pilot' and 'the other pilot', Capt Ranganathan highlighted that it does say that the co-pilot was flying the aircraft, which means the senior pilot in command was monitoring the take-off check-list items, which includes the fuel selector. A full cockpit voice recording will help identify who said what, because the pilots' headphone mics will have been recorded on different sides, he said. Final report expected within a year Most of the experts ST spoke with dismissed speculations of 'pilot suicide' making the rounds on television channels and social media in India, saying there was no evidence behind such a conspiracy theory. 'The reported statements itself show that both pilots were unaware as to how the fuel switch had turned from ON to OFF,' Mr Lazar noted. The preliminary report also says that 'both pilots had adequate rest prior to operating this flight', and that there was no significant bird activity to suggest a bird strike, putting paid to theories floated by experts and aviation enthusiasts soon after the fatal crash. The flight had adequate fuel of 54,200kg enough for its journey to London Gatwick, and the take-off weight of 213,401kg was within allowable limits of 218,183kg. 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