Air India Plane Crash: There is deep concern in the pilot community about the preliminary investigation report of the AI-171 aircraft accident. Air Safety Expert Captain Amit Singh, while questioning the credibility of the report, said that it is not clear at what time the engine stopped working.

According to the report, 08:08:42 Fuel control switch was ‘cut off’ after UTC, but in the same report, Ram Air Turbine (RAT) has been said to be active soon after the takeoff. He said that a simple, initial report based on facts would have been sufficient, but this report is creating doubt and confusion.

“Who shut down the fuel control switch?” -ALPA-I President
Captain Sam Thomas, president of the airline pilots Association of India (ALPA-I), said that it is a very shocking thing that there was a discussion among the pilots in the cockpit that ‘Who shut down the fuel control switch’. He also questioned why the Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) did not work after the accident. Sam Thomas expressed concern over the absence of an authorized signature on the report and the confidentiality of the investigation process. He reiterated that qualified and experienced pilots should be included in the investigation as a minimum observer, so that transparency and accountability remains.

“Pilot deliberately shut fuel” – Captain Ranganathan
Former Boeing 737 Commander and Instructor Captain Mohan Ranganathan claimed that the pilot deliberately shut down the fuel control switch. He said that first the right and then the left engine failed a few seconds, which is clear that the switches were closed one after the other. He described the report as ‘vague’ and termed its interpretation as suspicious.

“Boeing’s silence does not mean system” – Senior Commander
A senior Boeing commander said on the condition of anonymity that arguing that the pilot was the fuel cut off because Boeing did not issue any warning – this argument is wrong. He said that there is no proof of the security of the system, not issuing warnings by any company. Many times the serious design flaws have been accepted only when many accidents have happened. Giving the example of the Lion Air accident of Boeing 737 Max in 2018, he said that the pilots were first convicted at that time.