India’s Civil Aviation Minister, Ram Mohan Naidu, has denied any manipulation in the investigation of Air India Flight 171. This comes more than a month after the father of the flight’s captain alleged that authorities released only selective information from the probe into the crash, which claimed 241 of the 242 lives on board.
In an email to the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), the 91-year-old Pushkar Raj Sabharwal complained that investigators had selectively released information, resulting in unfounded speculation surrounding the conduct of his late son, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal. He further stated that officials from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) visited him in late August 2025 and suggested that his son might have deliberately cut fuel to the plane’s engines after takeoff.
“No Dirty Business” In The Investigation
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said that the investigation into the June 12, 2025, Air India Boeing 787-8 crash was being conducted transparently, denying any “dirty business” in the process. This marked the first response from the aviation ministry to the captain’s father’s complaints. In a statement to Reuters, the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) said the interaction “confirmed his fear of a deliberate attempt to shift blame onto a deceased pilot.” The FIP added that AAIB officials had questioned Sabharwal about his son’s mental state.
This is not the first time concerns have been raised about the investigation’s transparency. In July 2025, aviation regulators from the United States, the United Kingdom, and France reportedly questioned the transparency of India’s probe into the Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash. Sources told Corriere della Sera that there are fears political pressure could influence the investigation’s outcome. In a recent interview with India Today, India’s civil aviation minister said:
“There is no manipulation or there is no dirty business happening in the investigation. It is a very clean and very thorough process that we are following according to the rules that have been set up, so we are going to ensure that commitment is maintained.”
Preliminary Findings On The Crash
The preliminary report on Air India Flight 171 found that both engine fuel control switches were moved to the CUTOFF position about three seconds after the aircraft lifted off. This action led to the shutdown of both engines on the 11-year-old Boeing 787-8.
Cockpit voice recordings captured the pilots questioning each other about the switch movement, with one asking why it had been turned to CUTOFF, and with the other responding that they had not touched it. The switches were turned back to RUN roughly ten seconds after takeoff and were later recovered from the wreckage in the RUN position.
Investigators have so far ruled out other mechanical failures. The findings raise questions about how the fuel control switches came to be set to CUTOFF. Both pilots, based in Mumbai, were deemed “fit to fly” and had adequate rest before operating the Ahmedabad–London Gatwick flight. A limited number of fuel samples have been collected, with fuel contamination still being examined as a possible factor, according to the BBC.
More About Flight AI 171
The Air India crash, which occurred on June 12, 2025, claimed the lives of 260 people on board the aircraft and on the ground in Ahmedabad. It was the first air crash of its kind involving a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.
One person survived among the passengers on the London-bound 787-8 widebody. The crash claimed 241 lives on board. The crash also killed 19 people on the ground. The death toll was lower than the authorities’ earlier estimate of 270.
India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau ( AAIB) is leading the probe into the world’s deadliest aviation disaster in a decade. It is worth noting that the final report of the accident is yet to be released.
