‘Premature, Speculative’: US Transport Safety Body on Media Reports About Air India Crash Captain’s Role

‘Premature, Speculative’: The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Friday (local time) slammed recent media reports on the preliminary probe into the Air India Flight 171 crash that killed 260 people in Ahmedabad, Gujarat last month.

“Investigations of this magnitude take time,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said in a social media post. She called recent media reports “premature and speculative” without giving any details.

Investigators led by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau with the assistance of NTSB are piecing together evidence to find out what went wrong with Air India Flight 171 that crashed on June 12 killing 260 people. AAIB and Air India CEO Campbell Wilson have also asked the public not to jump to conclusions while the probe is on.

It can take a year or more for authorities to release a final report that outlines the probable cause of an accident and recommendations to prevent future tragedies.

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Both AAIB and Air India CEO Campbell Wilson have also asked the public not to speculate while the investigation is underway.

“Recent media reports on the Air India 171 crash are premature and speculative. India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau just released its preliminary report. Investigations of this magnitude take time. We fully support the AAIB’s public appeal, which was released Thursday, and will continue to support its ongoing investigation. All investigative questions should be addressed to the AAIB," NTSB shared Homendy's statement on X.

India’s AAIB released a statement warning against drawing early conclusions from its preliminary report. The agency said while the report found the fuel selector switches in the “cut-off” position, it has not yet determined how they got there. It could be mechanical malfunction or unintended human intervention but no cause has been established.

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“The purpose of the AAIB’s investigation and preliminary report is to provide information about what happened,” the statement read. “At this stage, it is too early to reach any definite conclusions.” The AAIB added that further investigation is underway and that a final report with root cause analysis and safety recommendations will be released in due course.

The Air India crash preliminary report released by AAIB found that in the cockpit voice recording, First Officer Clive Kunder is heard asking Captain Sumeet Sabharwal why did he cutoff. The other pilot replied he did not, according to the AAIB report.

In response to AAIB’s findings, India’s civil aviation regulator has ordered inspection of fuel control systems on all Boeing 737 and 787 aircraft operating in the country to rule out mechanical issues.

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