Don't jump to conclusions, Air India crash probe is on: AAIB cautions against media speculation

In the wake of media reports about the investigation into the crash of Air India flight last month, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has said that the media and the public should wait for the final report after the completion of the investigation.

The AAIB is the designated Indian agency to investigate air accident. It is currently investigating the Air India AI-171 crash on June 12 in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad in which 260 people, including 241 of 241 people aboard and 19 people on the ground, were killed.

In line with the obligation under the Chicago Convention, the AAIB published the preliminary report into the investigation last week. Independent experts have raised questions at the report and media have discussed various aspects of the reports, such as the report paraphrasing the critical conversation between the two pilots in the cockpit and not using their exact words. Moreover, the report did not mention which pilot said what.

In a statement on Thursday, AAIB Director General GVG Yugandhar said, “It has come to our attention that certain sections of the international media are repeatedly attempting to draw conclusions through selective and unverified reporting. Such actions are irresponsible, especially while the investigation remains ongoing. We urge both the public and the media to refrain from spreading premature narratives that risk undermining the integrity of the investigative process.”

Yugandhar also sought to assure that no conclusions can be reached at the current stage of the investigation and the final report will have root causes as well as recommendations.

The AAIB’s statement came within a day of Wall Street Journal reporting that the conduct of senior pilot, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, was in focus in the investigation.

The recording between Sabharwal and the first officer, Clive Kunder, indicates that it was the captain who turned off switches that stopped the supply of fuel to the aeroplane’s two engines, the newspaper reported people familiar with US officials’ early assessment of evidence as saying.

The persons quoted above told the newspaper that Kunder asked Sabharwal why he had switched off the fuel supply switches in a state of panic whereas Sabharwal replied calmly.

Notably, the AAIB’s preliminary report paraphrased this exchange between the two pilots and did not mention who said what.

“In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so,” the preliminary report said.