SC pulls up AAIB for blaming pilots in AI-171 crash report; notices to DGCA, Centre on plea for fair probe

The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Centre over a plea seeking an independent, expeditious and fair probe into the June 12 Air India crash in Ahmedabad, which killed all but one passenger onboard.

The apex court  described the pilot’s lapses cited in the AAIB preliminary report as “irresponsible”. The AAIB released the report on July 12, one month after the deadly crash.

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The plea was adjudicated by a bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh, who noted aspects of the AAIB preliminary report that appeared to pin blame on the pilots.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO Safety Matters Foundation, alleged that in the investigation panel constituted after the crash, three members were from the aviation regulator, raising a possible conflict of interest.

He also sought the release of the Flight Data Recorder information to establish the exact cause of the crash. The bench, however, disagreed with him on this point, citing that the premature release of the data is not “advisable”.

Raising concerns over the AAIB’s preliminary findings being made public, the bench called the selective release of the report “unfortunate”, observing that confidentiality must be maintained until the inquiry is fully completed.

The bench said it supported the preparation of the final report on the crash, noting that elements of confidentiality, privacy and dignity were involved. It clarified that notice was being issued only on the limited aspect of ensuring a free, fair, independent and expeditious investigation, as the release of certain information could be misused by rival airlines.

The plea, filed by an aviation safety NGO led by Captain Amit Singh (FRAeS), alleged that the official investigation violated citizens’ fundamental rights to life, equality and access to truthful information.

It also flagged concerns with the preliminary report released by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, contending that it failed to disseminate all data obtained during the early stage of the investigation, as required under the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2017.

The plea further alleged that the report withheld critical information, including the full Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) output, complete Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) transcripts with timestamps, and Electronic Aircraft Fault Recording (EAFR) data.

It also claimed that the preliminary report failed to incorporate or even acknowledge the testimony of the sole surviving passenger, Vishwashkumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old businessman from Leicester, United Kingdom.

The AAIB preliminary report into the AI-171 crash, involving a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, pointed to a disturbing sequence of events in the cockpit moments after takeoff.

The report indicated that fuel being cut off to both engines shortly after takeoff was the likely cause of the disaster. According to the findings, the fuel control switches drifted from “RUN” to “CUTOFF” seconds after takeoff, leading to a loss of thrust. However, media reports claimed the switches were found in the “RUN” position in the wreckage.

Based on the preliminary report and media reports, one of the pilots allegedly first turned the switches from “RUN” to “CUTOFF” and then, as the aircraft began losing thrust, switched them back to “RUN” in the final seconds in an attempt to salvage the situation. After the switches were returned to “RUN,” engine one partially recovered but engine two failed to restart. Ultimately, the ram air turbine (RAT) deployed after both engines shut down, and the aircraft crashed. Experts noted that moving the fuel switches between “RUN” and “CUTOFF” requires manual force and cannot happen accidentally.

The AAIB report also carried a brief cockpit exchange highlighting confusion. One pilot said, “Why did you switch off the fuel?” to which the other responded, “No, I did not.” The report stopped short of assigning fault and did not specify who said what.

Captain CS Randhawa, president of the Federation of Indian Pilots (FPI) and a former Air India pilot, told a news agency that the fuel switches can only be moved manually. He explained they are generally used in cases of a dual engine flameout or when the pilots recycle the switches, adding that the report did not make clear why they were changed. He also suggested a possible interruption in the power supply.

“In case of a dual engine flameout, the auto-throttle switches are turned off and the fuel control switches are cycled to ‘CUTOFF’ and then ‘RUN’ to reactivate,” he said.

In July, the Civil Aviation Minister urged the public not to draw conclusions until the final report was released. According to ministry sources, the probe into the Air India crash is nearing completion, and the AAIB is likely to submit its final report by the end of this year.