“With one stroke of the pen, you cannot say that a particular model of aircraft is defective,” the Supreme Court observed on Wednesday as it sought a progress report on the investigation into the Air India Flight AI-171 crash that killed 260 people in Ahmedabad in June 2025.
The court’s remarks came on the same day an Italian newspaper, Corriere della Sera, published fresh claims suggesting that investigators may be preparing to conclude that one of the pilots intentionally moved the aircraft’s fuel switches from “RUN” to “CUTOFF”, leading to the loss of thrust in both engines shortly after takeoff.
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The report cited unnamed aviation sources and claimed that cockpit voice recordings, after being cleaned of background noise, helped identify which pilot moved the switch. While the final probe report may not directly assign blame, the newspaper placed focus on the aircraft commander, Sumeet Sabharwal, who died in the crash.
Pilot associations and Sabharwal’s family have criticised what they view as an attempt to shift responsibility onto the crew, calling for closer scrutiny of the airline, aircraft manufacturer, and other contributing factors.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and the civil aviation ministry did not respond to requests for comment on the claims.
Flight AI-171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner bound for London, crashed seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport, killing 241 of 242 passengers onboard and 19 people on the ground.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court directed the Centre to submit an update within three weeks, cautioning against speculation and stressing that the inquiry should not become a blame game among stakeholders.
