AAIB Rejects WSJ Report on AI Crash, Says Probe Still On

New Delhi: Hours after The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), a US media outlet, reported that cockpit voice recordings indicated the captain of the ill-fated Air India Flight AI171 switched off fuel flow to the engines, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) of India issued a strong rebuttal. The AAIB, a Union Government body investigating last month’s Air India crash in Ahmedabad, condemned the report and stated that “certain sections of the international media are repeatedly attempting to draw conclusions through selective and unverified reporting,” adding that “such actions are irresponsible, especially when the investigation is still ongoing.”

Meanwhile, a conflicting account emerged from US aviation expert Mary Schiavo, who cited a 2019 incident involving a Boeing 787 operated by Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA). She claimed that a similar fuel switch occurred automatically due to a software glitch, without pilot input.

At a weekly press briefing, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: "On the Air India crash, you will have to wait for the concerned Government of India authority (the AAIB) to make the report public. It is too premature for any of us to comment on what's in it or what’s not. We must wait for the final report to be released."

The AAIB’s preliminary report, released last week, noted that shortly after takeoff, the aircraft’s fuel switches moved from the “Run” to “Cut Off” position, shutting down both engines sequentially. Audio from the Cockpit Voice Recorder captured one pilot asking the other, “Why did you shut it off?” to which the second responded that he had not.

The pilots attempted to revert the switches to the “Run” position and restart the engines. Engine 1 showed partial recovery, but Engine 2 failed to respond. As both engines fell below the minimum idle threshold, the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) deployed to supply emergency hydraulic power. The aircraft remained airborne for only 32 seconds before crashing into a medical hostel near the runway. Of the 242 people on board, all but one perished, along with 19 others on the ground.

According to media reports, the WSJ article claimed that senior pilot Captain Sumeet Sabharwal manually cut off fuel to both engines, leading to the crash. It also quoted the co-pilot, First Officer Clive Kunder, as having questioned this action in real time. The article alleged that Captain Sabharwal remained calm while Kunder appeared panicked. However, the recording cited in the report has not been made public.

The AAIB, expressing anguish over the WSJ claims, urged the media and public to avoid spreading “premature narratives that risk undermining the integrity of the investigative process.” The agency emphasised: “The purpose of the AAIB's preliminary report is to establish what happened. It is too early to draw conclusions. The final report will be released after the investigation is completed. We appeal to all concerned to await the official findings.”

It also stated: “It is essential to respect the loss faced by families of deceased passengers, crew, and others on the ground. This is not the time to create public anxiety or question the safety of Indian airlines.”

US aviation analyst Mary Schiavo challenged the idea of pilot error, citing a similar ANA incident where a software malfunction caused the aircraft to believe it was on the ground, prompting the Thrust Control Malfunction Accommodation System to shut off the fuel supply, all without pilot input.

Back home, the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) condemned the WSJ report. Its chief, Capt. C.S. Randhawa, threatened legal action against the publication. He asserted that the AAIB’s preliminary report made no claim that the pilots had manually shut off fuel flow, only that the switches transitioned from “Run” to “Cut Off” within seconds.

Veteran pilot and aviation consultant Capt. Ehsan Khalid suggested another angle: a possible stabilizer fault. He revealed that the crew had reported a stabilizer issue to ground engineers in Ahmedabad prior to takeoff. He recommended that investigators examine the flight data recorder for stabiliser input data.

Explaining further, Capt. Khalid said that during takeoff roll, if a stabiliser fault arises, the pilot is trained to manually turn off stabiliser control switches located below the thrust lever assembly. These orange stabiliser switches are placed adjacent to the fuel control switches, the current focus of investigation. He suggested the possibility that the co-pilot, who was flying the aircraft, might have inadvertently turned off the fuel switches while attempting to disengage the stabiliser, even though both switches have different tactile feedback.