Pushkraj Sabharwal, father of pilot Captain Sumit Sabharwal, who died in the AI-171 plane crash in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, has filed a petition in the Supreme Court alleging lack of transparency and credibility in the investigation. 260 people died in this accident. He has demanded that an independent investigation be conducted into this matter under judicial supervision.

Objection to preliminary investigation
The petitioners say the initial investigation into the accident was seriously flawed and focused primarily on the pilots, who could no longer defend themselves. The petition has been filed on behalf of Pushkraj Sabharwal and Federation of Indian Pilots. The AAIB report cited human error as the cause of the accident, but family members and pilot organizations say that technical and procedural aspects were not properly examined in the investigation.

Questions on the impartiality of the investigation team
Objections have also been raised in the petition on the structure of the investigation committee. Most of its members are associated with the DGCA and state aviation authorities, the same institutions whose procedures and oversight are under question in this accident. The petitioners say that the investigating agencies are conducting their own investigation, which is against the principle of natural justice.

pilot’s record
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal had an impeccable career of 30 years, which included 15,638 hours of safe flying. He had flown on Boeing 787-8 aircraft for 8,596 hours without any incident. The petition demands that the accident be investigated by an independent expert committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, so that the real reasons can be transparently investigated and such accidents do not happen again in future.

How did the accident happen?
On June 12, 2025, Air India Flight 171, going from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, crashed just seconds after takeoff. In this, 12 crew members and 229 passengers were killed, while one passenger miraculously survived. The plane crashed into the hostel of a medical college, killing 19 people.

Preliminary reports of the Bureau of Investigation (AAIB) have been revealed about the Air India flight AI-171 aircraft accident in Ahmedabad on June 12. According to the report, just before the accident, the pilots tried to start both engines again, but due to lack of time, they could not succeed in it. Now on this, former Civil Aviation Minister and Rajiv Pratap Rudy (trained pilot), a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee, said that the aircraft was technically fully well and suitable for flight.

He said, “According to the report, there was no technical fault in the aircraft. The engine and other flight systems were completely normal. The initial investigation makes it clear that the aircraft regularly took off.” He said, “The aircraft was so low that the automatic FADEC system (which turns on the engine) could not work. If the aircraft had been at 10,000 feet or at height, perhaps both engines would have turned on again.” He also said that maybe the monitoring pilot captain Sabarwal may not have adopted the necessary steps in the re-light process according to the memory checklist.

Shocking revelations in AAIB’s 15 -page preliminary report

Shocking facts have been revealed in the preliminary report of the 15 -page AAIB Bureau of Investigation (AAIB). According to the report, the aircraft had gained a maximum speed of 180 knots while flying around 8:08 am, but after just 1 second, both the engine’s fuel cut-off switch suddenly moved to the ‘Cutoff’ position from ‘Run’. Due to this, fuel stopped reaching the engine and the speed of both engines (N1 and N2 rotation) started falling rapidly.

The most surprising thing is that the conversation recorded in the cockpit voice recorder shows that the two pilots were unaware of the incident of this engine. According to the report, chief pilot Sumit Sabarwal asked C-Pilot Clive Kunder, “Why did you stop the fuel?” To this, the co-pilot replied, “I did nothing.”

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Ahmedabad plane crash: Pilot Captain Sumit Sabharwal, who lost his life in the plane crash of Air India in Ahmedabad, was given a final farewell today (Tuesday). During this time, his 90-year-old father Pushkarraj Sabharwal cried in trouble. Everyone’s eyes were moist. Pushkarraj folded the body for some time and prayed for some time. During this time wept bitterly. His daughter was seen tied to him.

Earlier, Sabharwal’s body was placed in a coffin and brought from Ahmedabad to Mumbai Airport in the morning. After this, members of Sabharwal’s family took the dead body to his residence in Jal Vayu Vihar in Powai.

Local people paid tribute

Many friends, relatives and local residents of Sabharwal (56) gathered outside their residence to pay tribute. Businessman Niranjan Hiranandani and local MLA Dilip Lande were among those who reached his residence to pay tribute to Sabharwal.

VIDEO | Mumbai: Parents attend the funeral of pilot captain sumeet sabharwal, who lost his life in the ahmedabad ai plane crash incident. pic.twitter.com/czw1wmc3GH

– Press Trust of India (@Pti_News) June 17, 2025

The official said that later the body vehicle took away the body of the pilot and left for the Chakla Electrical crematorium. Sabharwal (56) lived in Mumbai with his elderly parents.

Air India aircraft (AI-171), going to London, crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12, in which 242 passengers and crew members were aboard. The aircraft crashed in a medical college campus, except a passenger in it, everyone died.

Other 29 people present in the medical college campus also died. The aircraft was commanded by Captain Sabharwal and his associate First Officer Clive Kunder. The DGCA had earlier stated in a statement that Sabharwal had 8,200 hours of flight experience, while Kundar had 1,100 hours of flight experience.