Air India crash: AAIB pushes back on foreign media claims, says no final conclusions yet on AI-171 tragedy

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on Thursday rejected media reports suggesting that the probe into last year’s Air India Flight AI-171 crash had been finalised, calling such claims “incorrect and speculative”.

The AAIB said the investigation into the accident remains ongoing and no final conclusions have been reached so far.

“The investigation is still in progress. No final conclusions have been reached,” the bureau said in a statement.

It said the preliminary report released earlier only presented factual information available at that stage, while the final investigation report will be published after completion of the probe in line with international norms.

The bureau asked media organisations to avoid premature speculation, warning that unverified reporting creates unnecessary public anxiety and undermines the integrity of an ongoing professional investigation.

“The AAIB remains fully committed to transparency, procedural integrity and the highest standards of aviation safety,” it added.

According to the newspaper, Indian investigators had allegedly determined that the crash occurred after fuel cut-off to the engines due to deliberate action, and officials were preparing to draft their final report.

The report also said US experts assisting in the probe described the findings as a “breakthrough”.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft had taken off from Ahmedabad airport before crashing seconds later.

As many as 260 people were killed in the tragedy, including passengers and people inside a medical students’ hostel on which the aircraft fell. Only one passenger survived.

On July 12 last year, the AAIB released its preliminary report, which raised questions about the engine fuel cut-off switches.

The report said cockpit voice recordings captured one pilot asking the other why he had cut off fuel, to which the other pilot replied that he had not.

First Officer Clive Kunder was believed to be flying the aircraft, while Captain Sumeet Sabharwal was monitoring, suggesting his hands were free to operate the switches. Though the switches were restored about 10 seconds later, the aircraft had already lost thrust and crashed. The preliminary report did not specify what caused the fuel cut-off.

The Italian daily further claimed that investigators suspect the pilot-in-command switched off the engine fuel control switches, and also referred to possible mental health issues. It said the final report may include recommendations on continuous psychological evaluation and mental health monitoring of pilots.