Air India Crash: No Bird Hit, Fuel Switches Cut Off & An FAA Warning Ignored
The investigators have not recommended any actions to Boeing or engine manufacturers so far—which is invariably done if a defect is found in the aircraft during preliminary probe
The preliminary investigation report into the AI-171 crash in Ahmedabad seems to point a finger at the pilots and a cockpit error, rather than a problem with the Boeing Dreamliner aircraft.
In fact, the investigators in the report have not even recommended any actions to Boeing or the engine manufacturers so far—which is invariably done if a defect is found in the aircraft during the preliminary probe so that corrective actions can follow for other aircraft that are in the skies.
'At this stage of investigation, there are no recommended actions to B787-8 and/or GE GEnx-1B engine operators and manufacturers," the report mentions, saying further probe is on. Possibility of a bird hit has also been ruled out.
The report clearly says that the fuel supply to the engines was cut off, leading to the crash. It says the 'Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of one second".
This seems to point to a pilot error or possibly sabotage, as there are safety rails across both sides of the fuel cutoff switches to avoid any accidental touch. 'In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so," the report notes as a crucial detail.
It is not clear which pilot was telling this to his counterpart. The aircraft was piloted by 56-year-old Captain Sumeet Sabharwal with over 15,000 hours of flying experience, while the co-pilot was 32-year-old Clive Kundar, with over 3,200 hours of flying experience. Both were killed in the crash.
It was a fight against the wall once the engines got cut off at a low height post takeoff, and relighting them did not help arrest the descent.
'The EGT was observed to be rising for both engines indicating relight. Engine 1's core deceleration stopped, reversed and started to progress to recovery. Engine 2 was able to relight but could not arrest core speed deceleration and re-introduced fuel repeatedly to increase core speed acceleration and recovery".
The only mention in the report that could indicate a technical error is the part where it is pointed out that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the US issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) in 2018 regarding the potential disengagement of the fuel control switch locking feature.
'This SAIB was issued based on reports from operators of Model 737 airplanes that the fuel control switches were installed with the locking feature disengaged. The airworthiness concern was not considered an unsafe condition that would warrant airworthiness directive (AD) by the FAA. The fuel control switch design, including the locking feature, is similar on various Boeing airplane models, including part number 4TL837-3D which is fitted in B787-8 aircraft VT-ANB. As per the information from Air India, the suggested inspections were not carried out as the SAIB was advisory and not mandatory," the report says.
However, the report adds that there was no defect reported pertaining to the fuel control switch since 2023 on VT-ANB, the aircraft that crashed.
The full report will take another 10-11 months to come out. In the two previous worst crashes in India in the year 2020 and 2010 respectively involving the Air India Express, detailed probes had blamed the pilots while Boeing and the airline had got a clean chit. A total of 176 persons died in these crashes which happened during landing—the accident at the Calicut airport killed 18 in 2020, while the one at Mangalore killed 158 in 2010.
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First Published:
July 12, 2025, 08:45 IST
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Time of India
43 minutes ago
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Mint
an hour ago
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New Indian Express
an hour ago
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‘Let's not jump to conclusions': Union Civil Aviation Minister on preliminary report of Ahmedabad Air India crash
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