Air India Plane Crash: Aviation expert Captain Mohan Ranganathan has raised serious concerns that the crash of Air India Flight 171 may not have been an accident. Citing cockpit voice recordings and the manual shutdown of fuel switches, the expert suggests the possibility of a deliberate crash, potentially pointing to pilot suicide.
“It has to be manually done,” Captain Ranganathan told NDTV, explaining that the fuel cutoff switches on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner require deliberate and conscious effort to operate. “Absolutely,” he said, when asked if a pilot might have intentionally switched off the fuel to both engines.
His comments follow the preliminary report released by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), which indicated that both engines shut down within 32 seconds of takeoff on June 12, leading to the deaths of 241 people, including 19 on the ground.
“Why Did You Do It?” — CVR Captures Alarming Cockpit Exchange
According to the AAIB report, both fuel control switches were turned from “RUN” to “CUTOFF” within one second of each other. These switches are protected and require manual force to toggle — ruling out accidental shutdown or malfunction.
The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) revealed a chilling exchange: one pilot allegedly asked, “Why did you do it?” with the other replying, “I did not do it.” Captain Ranganathan believes this ambiguity suggests inconsistencies and possibly even a cover-up.
ALSO READ: Air India Plane Crash: Last chats between pilots out — One of them had asked ‘Why did you cut off fuel?’
“It’s poor reporting to not clarify which pilot said what,” he stated. “During takeoff, the co-pilot is flying the aircraft and both hands are on the controls. Only the captain would have had a free hand to access the switches.”
Questions Over Medical History and Regulatory Oversight
Captain Ranganathan also claimed that one of the pilots may have had a medical condition and was previously on extended leave. “If top management was unaware of this, I’d be surprised. Many line pilots knew about it,” he said, calling for a psychological audit over the last few months.
He pointed out India’s lack of structured mental health evaluations for pilots and urged the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to implement stronger safeguards. “Pilots are being treated like machines. Stress, fatigue, and emotional breakdowns are real. We’ve seen this in past global incidents,” he warned.
Civil Aviation Minister Urges Caution Amid Investigation
Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu responded to the expert claims by urging the public and media not to jump to conclusions. “It will be very premature to comment on the report. Let’s wait for the final report,” he said, adding that India has one of the finest aviation workforces in the world.
As investigations continue into India’s worst aviation disaster involving a Boeing 787, questions about pilot health, airline oversight, and regulatory accountability remain in sharp focus.
