Meanwhile, the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) on Thursday renewed its demand for a judicial probe into the AI-171 crash and urged authorities not to release any interim investigation report, saying it would create further confusion and speculation.
New Delhi: Indian investigators are expected to delay issuing a final report into a deadly Air India Boeing 787 crash by the one-year anniversary on Friday, citing the need to complete an analysis of the plane’s engines, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.
A cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots supported the view that the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane’s engines, according to U.S. officials’ early assessment reported by Reuters last year. Indian investigators said at the time it was “too early to reach any definite conclusions.”
The father of the captain asked India’s top court to order an independent investigation that took into account causes other than deliberate pilot action, which has been suspected or confirmed in the following fatal crashes.\
Meanwhile, the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) on Thursday renewed its demand for a judicial probe into the AI-171 crash and urged authorities not to release any interim investigation report, saying it would create further confusion and speculation.
Addressing a press conference on the eve of the first anniversary of the aviation tragedy, FIP president C S Randhawa said the association wants the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) to release a final report only after completing a comprehensive investigation.
He also alleged that the ongoing probe has several shortcomings and has unfairly shifted focus towards the pilots.
On June 12, 2025, the London-bound AI-171 flight crashed into the BJ Medical College hostel in Ahmedabad’s Meghaninagar, killing 260 persons, including 241 on board and 19 on the ground.
Only one passenger survived. Referring to media reports suggesting the AAIB may soon issue an interim report, Randhawa said such a move would create further confusion and speculation.
“If there is no conclusion from the investigation, releasing an interim report will only lead to more misunderstandings. The final report should be issued whenever the probe is completed,” he said.
The FIP, which represents over 5,400 pilots and aviation professionals, has already approached the Supreme Court seeking a judicial probe into the crash.
He reiterated that a judicial probe is necessary. Randhawa alleged that the AAIB’s preliminary report, released in July last year, led to speculation about pilot error after it referred to the movement of fuel control switches.
“The Western media immediately built a suicide theory around a brief cockpit voice recorder transcript. We strongly condemned those reports. It is too premature to blame the pilots,” he said.
He claimed that the Boeing aircraft had a history of technical issues, including a stabiliser defect and problems linked to pressurisation and air-conditioning systems, before operating the ill-fated flight.
According to Randhawa, the investigation has not adequately examined the possibility of electrical system failures on the Boeing 787 aircraft.
“Our stand from day one has been that there were electrical issues which need a thorough investigation. No pilot touched the fuel control switches. The fuel supply may have been cut off because of electrical failures affecting aircraft systems,” he alleged.
He also questioned why the lone survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, was reportedly interviewed by investigators nearly 10 months after the crash.
“He was the only survivor and could have provided crucial evidence. Yet he was questioned much later, while efforts were allegedly made to investigate the mental health of the pilots soon after the accident,” Randhawa said.
The FIP president further claimed that several messages, in the form of numerical codes, relating to the aircraft’s health monitoring systems were transmitted to Boeing and Air India before the crash and should be examined by investigators.
He also criticised the composition of the investigation team, alleging that more subject matter experts, including experienced pilots, engineers and flight safety specialists, should have been included in the probe.
Randhawa said the association had written more than 20 letters to the AAIB, the ministry of civil aviation and other authorities raising concerns over the investigation.
He maintained that the purpose of an accident investigation should be to establish facts and improve aviation safety rather than assign blame.
“The truth must prevail. The objective is to prevent another such accident and ensure justice for the victims and their families,” he said.
Randhawa also alleged delays in compensation to some families and called for payments in accordance with international norms under the Montreal Convention.
The FIP said it would continue to pursue legal and institutional remedies until all aspects of the crash are thoroughly investigated.
CHINA EASTERN AIRLINES, 2022:
A China Eastern Boeing 737-800 jet plunged into a hillside in southern China in March 2022, killing all 132 people on board.
Last month, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board released data indicating the fuel supply was switched off to both engines – the first significant investigative update on the crash.
“It was found that while cruising at 29,000 feet, the fuel switches on both engines moved from the run position to the cutoff position,” the NTSB said.
Flightradar24 said the data also showed downward force was applied to the first officer’s controls after the fuel to the engines was cut off.
The update from the NTSB came after China’s aviation regulator opted for the second year not to release an annual update on its investigation of the crash, letting the fourth anniversary pass without providing any insight into the cause.
GERMANWINGS, 2015:
A Germanwings Airbus A320 jet crashed into a French mountainside on March 24, 2015, on a flight from Barcelona to Duesseldorf, killing all 150 people on board.
Investigators concluded that First Officer Andreas Lubitz locked the captain out of the cockpit and deliberately crashed the plane.
Prosecutors have said Lubitz, a pilot at the now-closed Lufthansa low-cost subsidiary, was suffering from a mental disorder with psychotic symptoms that led to suicidal thoughts, but he had concealed his illness from his employer.
In 2018, the European Commission adopted new rules on pilot mental health requiring airlines for the first time to carry out a psychological assessment of pilots before they were hired.
MALAYSIA AIRLINES, 2014:
Flight MH370 vanished with 239 people on board en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur on March 8, 2014.
Based on satellite tracking and later wreckage finds, investigators believed it veered thousands of miles off course and crashed in a remote area of the southern Indian Ocean.
A final report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau showed Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah had flown a route on his home flight simulator six weeks earlier that was “initially similar” to the one actually taken by MH370.
The Malaysian investigation team said the controls were likely deliberately manipulated to take the plane off course, but they were not able to determine who was responsible.
EGYPTAIR, 1999:
An EgyptAir flight crashed off Nantucket, Massachusetts, on October 31, 1999, killing all 217 people on board the Boeing 767.
U.S. investigators concluded in a final report that the flight’s relief first officer stated, “I rely on God,” and moved the controls abruptly into a nose-down position, deliberately crashing the plane.
But Egyptian investigators accused the NTSB of twisting evidence to support its suicide theory and produced their own report citing technical problems.
SILKAIR, 1997:
All 104 people aboard a SilkAir Boeing 737-300 were killed when it crashed near the Indonesian city of Palembang during a routine flight from Jakarta to Singapore on December 19, 1997.
Air traffic controllers did not receive a distress call from the plane, flown by a now-closed regional subsidiary of Singapore Airlines (SIAL.SI), opens new tab.
Investigators found that the flight recorders had stopped minutes before it crashed, fuelling speculation about deliberate pilot action. But the exact cause has been disputed.
Indonesian investigators said in a final report that given the limited data and information from the wreckage and flight recorders, they were unable to find the reasons for the plane departing cruising altitude.
But the U.S. NTSB said the evidence suggested the cockpit voice recorder was intentionally disconnected, the recovery of the plane was possible but not attempted and it was more likely the nose-down flight inputs were made by the captain than the first officer.