logo
Air India captain's eerie words to first officer before they squabbled over fuel switches 'are revealed in black box recording' - and 'could support theory pilot is to blame for deadly crash'

Air India captain's eerie words to first officer before they squabbled over fuel switches 'are revealed in black box recording' - and 'could support theory pilot is to blame for deadly crash'

Daily Mail​18-07-2025
The captain of Air India Flight 171, which crashed in Ahmedabad killing 241 people on board last month, entrusted his first officer with the plane before takeoff, sources have claimed, citing the black boxes recovered from the crash.
'The plane is in your hands,' Captain Sumeet Sabharwal told First Officer Clive Kunder, two Western sources familiar with the contents of the recordings told Corriere della Sera.
The sources said it was not unusual for the captain of a flight to yield the controls to a first officer during takeoff. But pilots familiar with the preliminary report into the crash assessed that Mr Kunder would have 'had his hands full' flying the plane at the time.
The plane left the ground at 1:38:39pm and remained airborne for about 30 seconds before losing power and coming down in a residential area, killing 19 people on the ground and all but one person on board.
Before the crash, Mr Kunder asked the captain why he had moved the fuel switches into a position that starved the engines of fuel, a source briefed on U.S. officials' early assessment of evidence told Reuters.
A full transcript has not been released and the matter is still under investigation. India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is leading the investigation into the crash, but others have reviewed the flight recorder's contents.
Corriere's sources said Mr Kunder was heard asking the senior pilot: 'Why did you shut off the engines?' Another microphone recorded a 'vague' denial: 'I didn't do it'.
The outlet reports that Mr Kunder was 'unconvinced' and asked the same question 'several more times' over a further six seconds.
Reuters' source assessed that the cockpit recording of dialogue supported the view that the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane's engines.
Seconds after taking off on June 12, two fuel switches in the cockpit of Air India Flight 171 were turned off, a preliminary report revealed on Sunday
The plane momentarily disappeared from view behind trees and buildings before a massive fireball erupted on the horizon in this horrifying clip
A preliminary report released by India's AAIB on Saturday confirmed that the fuel switches had switched from 'run' to 'cutoff' just after takeoff -- but did not say how they were moved, nor speculate whether it was deliberate or accidental.
The report did not find any mechanical or maintenance faults on the flight.
Timeline of disaster
1:38:39 - The plane lifted off the runway in Ahmedabad
1:38:42 - The engines were defueled as the plane reached 180 knots
The left engine fuel control switch transitions from the run to cutoff position, followed by the right
1:38:44 - Dispute between pilots over alleged 'cutting off of fuel' to the engines
The other pilot responds that he did not cutoff the fuel
1:38:47 - RAT deployed, supplying hydraulic power to the aircraft and indicating loss of power from engines
1:38:52 - Fuel switch moved from 'Cutoff' to 'Run' on engine 1
1:38:56 - Switch changed on engine 2
1:39:05 - Mayday transmission signals life-threatening emergency
13:39:11 - Flight data recorders stop recording
It did say that one pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel and 'the other pilot responded that he did not do so.'
Investigators did not identify which remarks were made by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and which by First Officer Clive Kunder, who had total flying experience of 15,638 hours and 3,403 hours, respectively.
There was no cockpit video recording definitively showing which pilot flipped the switches, but the weight of evidence from the conversation points to the captain, according to the early assessment by U.S. officials.
Citing U.S. pilots familiar with the AAIB report, the Wall Street Journal reported this week that 'as the pilot actively flying, [First Officer] Kunder likely would have had his hands full pulling back on the Dreamliner's controls at that stage of the flight'.
'Sabharwal, as the pilot monitoring, would have been more likely to have had his hands free as he oversaw the operation.'
According to the report, the switches were apparently moved in succession, one second apart, before both were turned back on about 10 seconds later.
The movement of the fuel control switches allows and cuts fuel flow to the plane's engines.
The report did not say how the switches could have flipped to the cutoff position during the flight.
The switches' 'locking feature' meant pilots had to lift them up before changing their position - they are not simple push buttons that can be accidentally turned off.
Almost immediately after the plane lifted off the ground, closed-circuit TV footage showed a backup energy source called a ram air turbine (RAT) had deployed, indicating a loss of power from the engines.
The London-bound plane began to lose thrust, and after reaching a height of 650 feet, the jet started to sink.
The fuel switches for both engines were indeed turned back to 'run', and the airplane automatically tried restarting the engines, the report said.
But the plane could not gain power quickly enough to stop its descent. The report stated: 'One of the pilots transmitted "MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY"'.
The plane clipped some trees and a chimney before crashing in a fireball into a building on a nearby medical college campus, the report said, killing 19 people on the ground and 241 of the 242 on board.
Both fuel switches were found in the run position at the crash site.
Aviation expert and former airline pilot Terry Tozer said the engine cutoff switches being switched to off only seconds after takeoff was 'absolutely bizarre.'
'Unfortunately, the altitude was so low that the engines were only beginning to recover and they didn´t have enough time,' he told Sky News.
Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said in an internal memo on Monday that the preliminary report into the crash found no mechanical or maintenance faults and that all required maintenance had been carried out.
Wilson also urged the airline's staff to avoid drawing premature conclusions about the crash.
India 's civil aviation minister, Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, echoed that the report´s findings were preliminary and one should not 'jump into any conclusions on this.'
'Let us wait for the final report,' Naidu told reporters.
Investigators are said to be looking at the medical records of the pilots as part of their probe.
Captain Mohan Ranganathan, a leading aviation safety expert in India, claimed that one of the pilots had suffered with their mental health, citing other Air India pilots.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, he claimed: 'He had taken time off from flying in the last three to four years. He had taken medical leave for that.'
Captain Sabharwal is also understood to have taken bereavement leave after the death of his mother, though Mr Ranganathan understands that he had been 'medically cleared' by Air India prior to the fatal crash last month.
Air India, in a statement, said it is fully cooperating with authorities investigating the crash.
A final report is expected within a year.
The AAIB's preliminary report had no safety recommendations for Boeing or engine manufacturer GE.
The AAIB, which is leading the investigation, said in a statement on Thursday that 'certain sections of the international media are repeatedly attempting to draw conclusions through selective and unverified reporting.'
It added the investigation was ongoing and it remained too early to draw definitive conclusions.
Most air crashes are caused by multiple factors, and under international rules, a final report is expected within a year of an accident.
The plane´s black boxes - combined cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders - were recovered in the days following the crash and later downloaded in India.
Indian authorities had also ordered deeper checks of Air India´s entire Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet to prevent future incidents. Air India has 33 Dreamliners in its fleet.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Three spectators die after car veers off road during French auto rally
Three spectators die after car veers off road during French auto rally

The Guardian

time7 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

Three spectators die after car veers off road during French auto rally

Three spectators have died after a car driven by a 22-year-old racer veered off the road during an auto rally in France on Saturday, authorities said. The driver of the modified Peugeot 208 and her 51-year-old female co-driver were taken to hospital but their lives were not in danger, prosecutors said. The accident occurred near the town of Ambert in central France at about 11am on Saturday. Two men died at the scene and prosecutors later announced that a third man had died after being airlifted to hospital. The victims were two brothers, aged 70 and 60, and a 44-year-old man, according to the public prosecutor's office, which opened an investigation into involuntary manslaughter. Several people who witnessed the accident were in shock and nine people were taken to a psychological support unit set up in the nearby village of Saint-Just. 'This is a tragedy for the world of racing,' said Jöel Mathurin, a government official for the department of Puy-de-Dôme. The road at the accident site is flanked by cornfields. Several hours after the crash, pieces of plastic and glass fragments were visible near the scene, according to an AFP journalist. Regional prosecutor Laure Moisset said the impact was 'very violent'. 'Today, we have three families mourning the loss of loved ones in this accident,' she said. When asked about the possibility that the victims were in an area closed to the public, Moisset said she preferred to 'be cautious'. 'It is still a little too early to be precise,' she added. 'The race was extremely well organised.' Initially, the prefect had said the spectators hit by the car were in a restricted area marked off by red tape, despite the areas reserved for the public being marked with green tape. In a short statement after the accident on Saturday, the rally organisers said the race was halted at 10.49am. All spectators were asked to leave the scene and the event's award ceremony was cancelled. The investigation was 'in its early stages', the prosecutor said. The road where the accident took place, almost a straight line according to the authorities, has been closed.

Rally horror as three spectators are killed after driver crashes off road - one year on from tragic incident at same race
Rally horror as three spectators are killed after driver crashes off road - one year on from tragic incident at same race

Daily Mail​

timean hour ago

  • Daily Mail​

Rally horror as three spectators are killed after driver crashes off road - one year on from tragic incident at same race

A French rally event has been rocked by tragedy for the second year in a row after three spectators — including two brothers — were killed when a car veered off the road and crashed into the crowd. The fatal incident took place around 10am on Saturday during the Rallye de la Fourme d'Ambert in the Puy-de-Dome region of central France. The 22-year-old driver is said to have lost control during a 7km stage through the commune of Saint-Just, leaving the track and striking a group of spectators. Two brothers, aged 60 and 70, died at the scene. A 44-year-old father was rushed to hospital but later succumbed to his injuries. The driver and his 51-year-old co-driver both suffered only minor injuries. Dozens of police officers and firefighters responded to the crash, while several shocked witnesses were reportedly treated at the scene. The regional government posted on X (formerly Twitter): 'This morning, a tragic accident occurred during the Rallye de la Fourme d'Ambert. 'Following a vehicle in the race going off the road, several spectators were struck. 'Our thoughts are with the victims, their loved ones, and all those affected by this tragedy.' Local media report that an investigation into involuntary manslaughter has been opened. The mayor of Saint-Just expressed his devastation, saying: 'I have a great deal of emotion and sadness. My thoughts are especially with the families. The rally has been running for 30 years, and the last two years have seen one disaster after another.' This marks the second year in a row the event has ended in tragedy. In 2023, a 42-year-old steward was killed after being hit by a rally car while tending to a vehicle that had earlier gone off the road. The back-to-back fatalities are now likely to spark renewed scrutiny over spectator safety at motorsport events in France.

Hong Kong issues arrest warrants for 19 activists based overseas
Hong Kong issues arrest warrants for 19 activists based overseas

The Guardian

timean hour ago

  • The Guardian

Hong Kong issues arrest warrants for 19 activists based overseas

Hong Kong's national security police have issued arrest warrants for 19 activists based overseas, accusing them of subversion under a stringent national security law, marking the largest such tally yet. They are accused of organising or participating in the Hong Kong Parliament, a pro-democracy group that authorities in the Asian financial hub say intended to subvert state power, under the law Beijing imposed in 2020 after months of pro-democracy protests in 2019. The activists are accused of having launched a referendum or run as candidates in the unofficial Hong Kong Parliament group, which authorities say aims to achieve self-determination and draft a Hong Kong constitution. Police said the organisation sought to overthrow the governments of China and Hong Kong by unlawful means, and that further arrests may follow. Among those named are the businessman Elmer Yuen, the commentator Victor Ho, and the activists Johnny Fok and Tony Choi. Four of them are subject to previous arrest warrants, each carrying a reward of 1m Hong Kong dollars (£95,000). Among the remaining 15, for each of whom police are offering a reward of 200,000 Hong Kong dollars, are those said to have organised or run in the election and been sworn in as its councillors. Feng Chongyi, a China studies professor at the University of Technology Sydney who was also listed, decried the bounty against him as 'ridiculous'. 'They've got the power, they've got the influence overseas, they want to control everything even overseas,' he told the Sydney Morning Herald. The UK's foreign and home secretaries condemned the move in a joint statement, calling the arrests 'another example of transnational repression' and saying it damages Hong Kong's international reputation. '[The UK] will not tolerate attempts by foreign governments to coerce, intimidate, harass or harm their critics overseas,' they said in a statement on Friday. In response, the Chinese embassy in the UK said the British government's remarks 'constitute a gross interference' in China's internal affairs and the rule of law in Hong Kong. 'China urges the UK to abandon its colonial mentality, stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs … stop shielding criminals,' it said. Australia's foreign minister, Penny Wong, also strongly objected to the arrest warrants. 'Freedom of expression and assembly are essential to our democracy,' she said on X. 'We have consistently expressed our strong objections to China and Hong Kong on the broad and extraterritorial application of Hong Kong's national security legislation, and we will continue to do so.' The former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with the guarantee of a high degree of autonomy, including freedom of speech, under a 'one country, two systems' formula. Critics of the national security law say government are using it to stifle dissent. Chinese and Hong Kong authorities have repeatedly said the law was vital to restore stability after the city was rocked for months by sometimes violent anti-government and anti-China protests in 2019. Police reiterated that national security offences were serious crimes with extraterritorial reach and urged the wanted individuals to return to Hong Kong and surrender. 'If offenders voluntarily give up continuing to violate the crime, turn themselves in, truthfully confess their crimes, or provide key information that helps solve other cases, they may be eligible for reduced punishment,' they said in a statement. Police also said that aiding, abetting, or funding others to participate in the Hong Kong Parliament group could be a criminal offence.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store