It has been exactly one year since the tragic crash of Air India flight AI171, yet the truth behind the disaster remains shrouded in mystery. On the sweltering afternoon of June 12 2025, a Boeing 171 Dreamliner carrying 242 people took off from Ahmedabad with London as its destination. However, just 32 seconds after lift-off, both powerful engines suddenly shut down in mid-air. The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) captured a chilling argument between the pilots, raising suspicions of human error. Despite this, the Federation of Indian Pilots and safety experts are questioning the delay in the final black box report, pointing instead toward potential technical malfunctions within the Boeing aircraft.
The Final Moments of Flight 171
To understand the gravity of this incident, one must look at the chronology of that fateful day. On June 12 last year, Air India Flight 171 was scheduled to fly from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad to Gatwick Airport in London. The aircraft carried 230 passengers, including 161 Indian and 53 British citizens, along with 12 crew members. The cockpit was under the command of the highly experienced Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder. Everything appeared normal as the Air Traffic Control gave the green light, and the plane accelerated down the runway.
The disaster struck within 32 seconds of the aircraft leaving the ground. Instead of gaining altitude, the Dreamliner seemed to hang in the air before gliding down and crashing into the hostel block of BJ Medical College in Ahmedabad. The impact was devastating, claiming the lives of all 241 people on board and 19 innocent people on the ground, bringing the total death toll to 260. Initial CCTV footage confirmed there was no external blast, suggesting the plane was flying normally until the sudden loss of power.
The Cockpit Voice Recorder Suspense
In July 2025, a month after the crash, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released a 15 page preliminary report that sent shockwaves through the aviation industry. While it didn't explicitly blame anyone, two paragraphs suggested a terrifying theory. Data indicated that immediately after takeoff, the fuel control switches for both engines had moved from the Run position to the Cutoff position. These switches are typically used to start engines before flight and shut them down after landing, meaning the fuel supply was cut while the plane was in the air.
" Without clarifying whose voices were recorded, international media outlets like Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal began pushing a narrative of pilot suicide or gross negligence. American experts quickly claimed the crash was the result of human action inside the cockpit rather than an engine or aircraft failure.
Pilot Advocacy and System Failure Theories
The Federation of Indian Pilots, representing nearly 6000 pilots, has labeled the preliminary report as compromised and biased. Captain CS Randhawa, the federation's president, stated that when a pilot is deceased, manufacturers and agencies often shift the blame onto the crew to protect corporate interests. Captain Sumeet’s 91 year old father, Pushkar Raj Sabharwal, approached the Supreme Court of India against this narrative. The court subsequently directed that the flight crew shouldn't be made scapegoats until the investigation is fully completed.
Safety campaigners and the US based whistleblower organization, Foundation for Aviation Safety, have also rejected the Boeing theory. Ed Pierson, the head of the organization, presented documents claiming that the specific aircraft, registration VT-ANB, had a documented history of poor electrical performance. Investigative journalists and engineers suggest a theory involving the aircraft's Core Network or central nervous system. They propose that a major electrical failure occurred during takeoff, causing the systems to reboot. This reboot may have misled the software into thinking the plane was still on the ground, causing it to interpret high thrust as a malfunction and automatically cutting the fuel supply. Under this theory, the pilots never touched the switches; the computer made the fatal decision itself.
The Delay in the Final Report
According to international aviation rules under ICAO Annex-13, a final investigation report for a major air disaster must be released within 12 months to prevent future accidents. As the first anniversary of the AI171 crash passes, the absence of this report has raised concerns about corporate pressure. The aviation world continues to wait for a definitive answer to whether the 260 lives were lost due to a human mistake or a hidden technical flaw in one of the world's most advanced commercial jets.