Why Indian pilots are furious about the Air India AI171 crash report | What really happened? - video Dailymotion

The preliminary report into the Air India Flight AI171 crash, which killed 260 people in June 2025, has sparked outrage among Indian pilots.

Transcript

00:00Many Indian pilots are angry with the Air India crash investigation report, here's why.

00:12But while the data points to a technical malfunction, many headlines have been quick to suggest pilot error.

00:18The Indian Commercial Pilots Association said it was deeply disturbed by speculative narratives,

00:23particularly the reckless and unfounded insinuation of pilot suicides.

00:27In a strong statement, the ICPA called these claims reckless, unfounded, irresponsible and deeply insensitive,

00:34especially since the probe is still ongoing.

00:37Just a day earlier, the Airline Pilots Association of India raised concerns over the tone and direction of the narrative

00:42around the preliminary report, suggesting it reflects a bias against pilots.

00:46Here's what the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau found.

00:49Just three seconds after the takeoff, both fuel and control switches on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner

00:54move to the cutoff position.

00:57What are fuel control switches?

00:59They are switches that regulate fuel flow into a plane's engines.

01:02They are used by pilots to start or shut down engines on the ground

01:05or to manually shut down or restart engines if an engine failure occurs during a flight.

01:10So changing the switches to the cutoff position would amount to cutting of fuel to both engines.

01:14The aircraft, as we saw in this footage, couldn't climb beyond 625 feet.

01:19What you do with the switch, it isn't as simple as the light switches at home.

01:24You have to physically, sort of, not pull the pin, but if you have to pull the toggle out,

01:30then it can move to a different position.

01:32So you do have to do it on purpose, not accidentally knocking it to the wrong position.

01:38Very rarely that can happen or close to zero.

01:41The pilots attempted to restart the engines, but the aircraft lost all thrust and crashed within seconds,

01:47killing all 260 people on board, including 19 on the ground.

01:50And here's where it gets more troubling.

01:53Back in 2018, the FAA had warned about potential issues with these very few switches.

01:58The locking mechanism designed to prevent accidental movement could fail under certain conditions.

02:02But Air India never conducted the inspections recommended for the aircraft involved in the crash.

02:07What the report seems to be suggesting is the error with the chip.

02:11It's as simple as one chip not working properly, losing contact.

02:17Once you lose contact, it's kind of how electricity works, the signal works.

02:22So far, the report does not blame the pilots, but it does raise important questions.

02:26Why did both fuel switches move to cutoff at the same time?

02:30Was there a deeper fault in the aircraft systems?

02:32And why weren't the FAA's earlier warnings followed?

02:35The report has triggered a global response.

02:38In the UAE, Etihad Airways has ordered urgent inspections of the locking mechanism in the fuel control switches

02:43of all Boeing 787s in its fleet, urging engineers to be extra cautious while operating them.

02:50As the investigation continues, India's pilots are asking for the investigation process

02:54to ensure transparency and accountability.