‘Don’t draw conclusions from pilots’ brief chat’: Civil Aviation Minister on Air India crash report

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Saturday clarified that the report on the June 12 Air India crash is only preliminary, urging the public and media not to draw conclusions until the final investigation findings are released.

According to initial findings, fuel supply to both engines of the Air India Boeing 787 was cut off merely three seconds after take-off from Ahmedabad. Within a second of each other, the aircraft’s fuel control switches shifted from the “RUN” position to “CUTOFF.”

Calling the investigation “challenging,” Naidu highlighted the complexity involved, stressing that it is too early to comment on the specifics of the report.

“The Civil Aviation Ministry is meticulously analyzing this report. Let’s avoid jumping to conclusions. Only when the final report is available can we reach a definitive conclusion,” Naidu told reporters.

Expressing confidence in India’s aviation workforce, he added, “We have one of the finest workforces globally when it comes to pilots and crew. They are the backbone of the aviation industry.”

What does the crash report say

Notably, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau’s (AAIB) preliminary report does not clarify whether the fuel control switches’ shift—which determines fuel flow to the engines—was an inadvertent error or a deliberate act.

However, the report includes an excerpt from the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), capturing a brief but critical exchange between the pilots. One pilot is heard asking the other why he cut off the fuel, to which the second pilot responds that he did not.

Commanding the ill-fated flight was Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, with a total flying experience of 15,638 hours. His co-pilot, Clive Kunder, aged 32, had logged 3,403 hours of total flying experience.

Pilots’ exchange

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Muralidhar Mohol cautioned against drawing conclusions solely based on the cockpit conversation, emphasizing its brevity.

“The AAIB carries out its investigations independently, without external interference. We did not send the black box abroad—it was decoded domestically. No conclusions should be made from the pilots’ brief exchange alone,” Mohol said.

The London-bound Air India flight tragically crashed into the BJ Medical College hostel building in Ahmedabad mere seconds after take-off. The disaster claimed the lives of 260 people, including 241 passengers and crew onboard, as well as 19 people on the ground.