More Mystery Over Air India Flight 171 Crash as Preliminary Report Triggers Theories

The Air India Flight 171 crashed in June and all 260 people on board were killed.

A preliminary report was expected to provide some clarification about how the incident occurred and what were the reasons behind it.

However, after a 15-page document was unveiled by the probing groups, the mystery around the crash has only deepened.

Reports said that as soon as the flight left the runway, the fuel control switches were set to “cut-off”.

This stops the fuel supply to engine, and experts say this step is taken only after the flight has landed. 

Air India Flight 171 Crash : Whose Fault Was It?

As a result, the engine switched off just seconds after flight and despite the fact that switches were returned to their inflight setting, the aircraft crashed less than a minute later.

Reports say that cockpit voice recorder caught a conversation in which one of the pilots is asking the other pilot why did he do the cut off and the second pilot says he didn’t do it.

There is no confirmation about the identities of the speakers, local media reports said.

First Officer Clive Kunder, 32, was the main pilot during the flight while Captain Sabharwal, 56, was monitoring it.

Media reports said that the two had shared more than 19,000 hours of combined flying experience. Interestingly, most of it was on the 787.

After the report has released, multiple theories are doing the rounds regarding the flight.

Some sources have said that the reports have pointed to the captain, who claim the first officer questioned him repeatedly about shutting off the engines.

Officials Slam Media Speculations

However, Indian authorities have reacted sharply to the claims and called it “selective and unverified reporting.”

Jennifer Homendy, a U.S. official who is assisted in the inquiry also said the reports are “premature and selective.”

Pilot unions of India also countered the media narrative and Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association dismissed it as “reckless.”

Similarly, ALPA India’s Sam Thomas stated that narratives discussed in the media reports are “triumphed over transparency.”

He reportedly has asked investigators to check maintenance records and cockpit data before arriving at a conclusion.

Also Read: NTSB Chair Slams Speculation Over Fuel-Switch Error In Air India Flight 171 Crash