Air India crash: Minister says ‘Don’t jump to conclusions, we have wonderful pilots’

Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu on Saturday said the preliminary report on the June 12 Air India flight AI171 crash in Ahmedabad should not lead to conclusions, as the final investigation is still ongoing. “I don't think we should jump into any conclusions over this. There are technicalities involved. It would be very premature to comment on the report,” he said, while addressing reporters in Visakhapatnam. He added, “We care for the welfare and well-being of the pilots also… Let us wait for the final report.”

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), which is conducting the investigation, released its preliminary findings on Saturday. According to the report, both fuel switches controlling the engines moved from the RUN to CUTOFF position within one second of each other. Following this, the engines lost power and the aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff. Cockpit voice recordings captured one pilot asking the other why the fuel was cut off, to which the second pilot responded that he had not done it.

The report stated that the aircraft reached a maximum airspeed of 180 knots before the fuel cutoff occurred. After the cutoff, the N1 and N2 engine parameters dropped from takeoff levels, leading to the crash. However, the report does not determine whether the fuel switch movement was caused by pilot action, mechanical fault, or electronic malfunction. That aspect remains under investigation.

Minister Naidu said all procedures have followed international norms and added that the investigation, including securing and decoding the black box, is being conducted entirely within India. “I would like to appreciate all the efforts that they have put in for holding a very transparent probe,” he said. The black box, which includes the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and the flight data recorder (FDR), was not sent abroad. Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol confirmed that the device remains with AAIB.

The AAIB also noted that fuel samples from the bowsers and tanks used to refuel the aircraft before takeoff were tested at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) laboratory and found to be satisfactory. The crash claimed 241 lives, including passengers, crew members, and residents near the BJ Medical College residential quarters where the aircraft went down. Only one person onboard survived the accident. Earlier in the day, the Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA) alleged that the probe was being conducted with a presumption of pilot error and requested observer status in the investigation for transparency.