Air India flight 171, flying from Ahmedabad to London, crashed soon after take off on June 12, 2025, killing 242 people on board, including 12 crew members.

Updated on: Feb 12, 2026 12:23 PM IST

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HT Correspondent

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Indian investigators are preparing to state in the final report that Air India Flight 171 crashed because one of the pilots turned off the aircraft's fuel switches in an "almost certainly" intentional act, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported on Wednesday, citing sources in western aviation agencies.

Wreckage of the crashed Air India plane being lifted through a crane, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. (PTI)

Wreckage of the crashed Air India plane being lifted through a crane, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. (PTI)

The findings are based on what the report said was a lack of technical defect being found, and analysis of cleaned-up cockpit voice recordings that investigators said identified which pilot moved the switches.

Also read: Clear cockpit audio, pilot's ‘almost certainly intentional’ act: In Air India crash, new claims via Italian news report

India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau and the civil aviation ministry did not respond to HT’s requests for comment on the report.

Flight 171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, crashed on June 12 shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport, killing 260 people — 241 of the 242 on board and 19 on the ground when the aircraft plummeted onto a medical student hostel 32 seconds after losing thrust from both engines.

While it remains unclear whether the final report will include a detailed description of how the switches were intentionally turned off or explicitly attribute responsibility, the main suspect is the aircraft's commander, Sumeet Sabharwal, who died in the crash, Corriere reported.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5834854&forum_id=2Reputation#49670471)