Pain, anger, and unanswered questions linger after AAIB’s prelim report on Air India crash

A month after the tragic Air India flight AI-171 operating from Ahmedabad to Gatwick, London, crashed, the grieving family members of the victims have called for accountability and demanded answers from the government following the release of a preliminary investigation report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on Friday midnight.

The 15-page preliminary investigation report, which reveals the likely cause behind the crash, has prompted emotional reactions from the relatives of those who died in the June 12 crash in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

Mohammad Rafiq Ghulam Hussain Khanji from Gujarat’s Aravalli district lost three family members in the crash. Now, after the preliminary report into the crash was released, he has just one expectation from the government – such incidents should not happen again.

“Our expectation from the government is that such an incident should not happen again and all precautionary measures should be taken,” said a visibly pained Hussain.

Mukesh Maheswari from Vadodara, who lost his son in the AI-171 crash, expressed his anger, demanding punishment for those responsible.

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“I lost my son… All I know is that those responsible for this accident should be punished,” Maheshwari, who runs a Kirana shop in the city, told a news agency.
Surat resident Yashpal Singh Vansadiya, who lost both his parents in the tragedy, flagged the technical issues and demanded answers to his unanswered questions.

“I have certain questions to ask from the government and the investigation agencies. Based on the report, which mentions one pilot asking the other if he has turned off the switch, it means there were some technical issues. Were all preventive checks of the aircraft done? I hope I get answers to all these questions,” he said.

The 15-page report, released by the AAIB on Friday midnight, stated that the fuel cutoff switches were “transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of 01 sec”.

The AAIB report also shared the cockpit voice recording of the pilots moment before the crash. In the recording, one pilot is heard asking the other why did he shut the engines down.

However, the other pilot denies doing that, raising suspicion that any accidental actions did not cause the crash, as the fuel cut-off switches are guarded and require deliberate operation, commonly in emergencies like mid-air engine fire.

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