Air India flight crash: Pilot deliberately cut fuel switch, report reveals

Investigators probing the crash of Air India flight 171 in Ahmedabad have concluded that the disaster that claimed 260 human lives was caused by the deliberate cutting of fuel switches by the pilot in command.

The ‘Boeing 787 Dreamliner’ crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on 12 June 2025, killing 260 people. Of the 242 people on board, 241 died, along with 19 people on the ground, when the aircraft struck a medical student hostel.

The current report, published on Thursday in the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, cited unnamed Western aviation agency sources, said that Capt Sumeet Sabharwal, the pilot-in-command, allegedly turned off the fuel switches, which is “almost certainly” an intended act.

India’s civil aviation ministry and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) have not publicly commented on the claims.

Earlier, the preliminary report of the AAIB suggested that one pilot was heard asking the other in the cockpit why the fuel had been cut off. “I did not do so,” the other pilot replied.

The paper said that Capt Sabharwal, the main suspect, had been suffering from depression a month before the disaster.

The Italian publication said Indian investigators have agreed with American experts that the crash did not happen due to mechanical failure, but was a deliberate action.

The Italian newspaper said investigators had ruled out mechanical failure after analysing flight data and cockpit voice recordings (black box data), and that both engines were found to have been switched off before the crash.

The report also cited sources claiming that Capt Sabharwal had been suffering from depression in the weeks before the incident.

When similar reports leaked a few months ago, citing the AAIB’s preliminary findings that blamed one of the pilots, there were protests from pilots’ associations in India.

Sabharwal’s father also rejected the charges about his son’s mental health and demanded a fresh probe.

The Italian paper cited anonymous sources as saying the conclusion will undergo a political evaluation, and a more cautious version would be adapted to avoid controversies.

Separately, another report has claimed that Air India has offered financial settlements to victims’ families on the condition that they do not pursue legal action against the airline or the aircraft manufacturer.