‘Reckless’: Pilot unions furious over 'insinuations of suicide' or error in AI 171 crash

Pilot associations in India are expressing deep outrage over speculation that pilot actions or errors may have caused the crash of Air India flight AI 171 in Ahmedabad just minutes after takeoff, in which more than 290 people were killed.

On Sunday, the Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association (ICPA) strongly condemned suggestions in sections of the media and public discourse that pilot suicide might have been behind the tragic crash of the Air India Boeing 787-8 on June 12.

A day earlier, the Airline Pilots’ Association of India had criticised the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau’s (AAIB) preliminary report on the AI 171 crash for creating a “presumption of pilot guilt” even before the investigation was complete. On Sunday, the ICPA, one of Air India’s pilot unions, also spoke out, denouncing the “reckless and baseless insinuation” that pilot suicide was involved—a theory that has circulated since the report’s release on Saturday.

The ICPA, which represents pilots flying Air India’s narrow-body fleet, said such theories, based on incomplete and early information, are “reckless, unfounded, irresponsible, and deeply insensitive.”

The ICPA is the second pilots’ body to raise serious concerns over the speculation. On Saturday, the Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA-I) also criticised the preliminary investigation report for its “tone and direction,” accusing it of showing bias toward blaming pilot error.

The crash of flight AI 171 is the worst aviation disaster involving an Indian airline in four decades.

The AAIB reported that both fuel switches on the Boeing 787 were found in the off position.

According to the AAIB, the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner experienced a dual engine failure just seconds after takeoff when both fuel control switches were accidentally moved to the “CUTOFF” position. The cockpit voice recorder captured one pilot asking, “Why did you cut off?” to which the other replied, “I didn’t.”