Expert Breaks Down How Devastating Error May Have Led To Deadly Air India Crash

With the release of the preliminary report into last month’s tragic Air India crash, an aviation expert has now offered insight into how such a fatal mistake might have unfolded.

Exactly one month ago, on June 12, a devastating incident occurred when a commercial airliner carrying 242 people crashed into a medical college hostel located in a residential area of Ahmedabad, India. The crash site was just about a mile from the runway of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.

The disaster happened at 1:38 p.m. local time and claimed nearly every life onboard. Only one person managed to survive the horrific crash.

That sole survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, had been seated in 11A. Miraculously, he was later seen walking away from the debris. Tragically, just days later, he served as one of the pallbearers at his brother Ajay’s funeral. Ajay had also been a passenger on the same ill-fated flight and didn’t survive.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau released a preliminary report on July 11, which pointed to a shocking cause behind the tragedy. According to the findings, the engines’ fuel supply had been cut off mid-flight.

The report revealed that right after the plane reached its top recorded airspeed of 207 mph, both the fuel cut-off switches for engine one and engine two were flipped to off just moments after takeoff.

The back of Air India flight 171 is pictured at the site after it crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025. A London-bound passenger plane crashed in the Indian city of Ahmedabad on June 12 SAM PANTHAKY/AFP via Getty Images

"The Engine N1 and N2 began to decrease from their take-off values as the fuel supply to the engines was cut off." the report stated.

It also included audio evidence from the cockpit, saying: "In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so."

Aviation specialist Tim Atkinson commented that there were only a few rare situations that could possibly explain this sequence of events.

Aviation expert Tim Atkinson believes the accident could have been the result of a mistake in the cockpit BASIT ZARGAR/Middle east images/AFP via Getty Images

Speaking to Sky News, the seasoned pilot and aviation consultant shared his view: "One would be an utterly extraordinary human error, an unintentional act, and the other - I'm very sorry to say - would be an intentional act."

He added another point for clarity: "And that's not a suggestion or allegation, it's simply an analysis of the small amount of information that we have at hand at this moment."

Meanwhile, another expert, David Learmount, weighed in as well, telling the outlet: "The fuel switches cannot be turned on or off by mistake. They have to be pulled out before selecting up (run) or down (cut off)."

He did note, however, that sometimes pilots can make mistakes and perform the wrong action, even when they believe they’re doing the right thing at the moment.

The Air India plane was reported to be carrying around 54,200 kilograms of fuel at the time of the crash. This amount was considered to be within the safe and allowed limits.

Once the pilots realized there had been a serious error with the fuel control, they worked quickly to correct it. As per the report, they flipped the switches back on soon after the mistake was discovered.

It read: "At 08:08:56 UTC Coordinated Universal Time - which India Standard Time is five-and-a-half hours ahead of the Engine 2 fuel cutoff switch also transitions from CUTOFF to RUN."

"When fuel control switches are moved from CUTOFF to RUN while the aircraft is inflight, each engine's full authority dual engine control (FADEC) automatically manages a relight and thrust recovery sequence of ignition and fuel introduction."