The mystery of the demise of Air India Flight 171, has deepened. Cockpit voice recordings capture a chilling exchange, with one pilot asking, “Why did you cut off?” and the other responding, “I didn’t.”
The report does not clarify which pilot spoke, deepening the enigma. The switches, designed with a locking mechanism to prevent accidental movement, were returned to their “run” position shortly after, initiating an automatic engine relight.
One engine began regaining thrust, but it was too late to avert the disaster, as the aircraft crashed 32 seconds after leaving the runway.
In the bustling city of Ahmedabad, the investigation into the catastrophic crash of Air India Flight 171, which claimed 260 lives on 12 June 2025, continues to unfold with a blend of urgency and mystery.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, bound for London Gatwick, plummeted into the hostel block of B. J. Medical College mere seconds after takeoff, marking the first fatal incident involving this aircraft model. The tragedy, which left only one survivor, a passenger seated by an emergency exit, has gripped the nation and the global aviation community, as investigators strive to unravel the sequence of events that led to one of India’s deadliest aviation disasters.
The preliminary report released by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau on Friday 12 July has cast a spotlight on this perplexing detail: just three seconds after takeoff, the fuel control switches for both engines were inexplicably moved to the “cut-off” position, starving the engines of fuel and triggering a catastrophic loss of thrust.
The investigation, led by Indian authorities with support from experts at Boeing, General Electric, and the US is now focusing on those fuel control switches. These lever-lock switches, a safety feature since the 1950s, require deliberate action to move, ruling out casual error. Speculation about electronic interference has surfaced, with former investigator Captain Kishore Chinta suggesting the plane’s electronic control unit might have triggered the switches, though no evidence yet supports this theory. A 2018 US Federal Aviation Administration bulletin noted issues with disengaged locking mechanisms on some Boeing 737 switches, but Air India reported no such defects in the 787’s throttle control module, which was replaced in 2019 and 2023 for unrelated reasons.
Physical evidence from the wreckage, now secured in a hangar near Ahmedabad’s airport, indicates the landing gear remained deployed and the wing flaps were extended, suggesting the pilots followed standard takeoff procedures. The Ram Air Turbine, an emergency power system, was also activated, pointing to a major systems failure. Fuel samples tested satisfactory, dismissing earlier theories of contamination. The absence of significant bird activity further narrows the list of potential causes.
Both pilots, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and co-pilot Clive Kundar, were experienced and had passed breathalyser tests, with adequate rest before the flight.
The black boxes, recovered on 13 and 16 June, have yielded critical data, with the Crash Protection Module accessed on 24 June at the AAIB’s Delhi lab. Analysis of the cockpit voice and flight data recorders continues, though some suggest the data may be sent to the US for further scrutiny due to uncertainties about the Delhi facility’s capabilities.
The investigation adheres to international protocols under the UN’s aviation body, with a final report expected within a year. For now, no advisories have been issued for the Boeing 787 or its GE GEnx-1B engines, and Air India has completed safety checks on 26 of its 33 Dreamliners, all cleared for service.As the inquiry progresses, the tragedy has cast a shadow over Air India’s ambitious turnaround under Tata Group ownership.
The airline has pledged support for victims’ families, offering £10 million in compensation per passenger and covering medical costs for the injured. The sole survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, escaped through a detached section of the aircraft, a grim testament to the crash’s ferocity, which saw temperatures reach 1,500°C, complicating DNA identification of victims.
With 80 DNA matches completed and 33 bodies released to families, the human toll remains stark. The investigation’s next steps, including potential cockpit video recorder analysis as advocated by the NTSB, will be crucial in answering the lingering question: what, or who, moved those fateful switches?
