Kathmandu. Foreign investigators probing the crash of Air India Flight 171 in Ahmedabad last year have concluded that the crash was the result of a “deliberate act” and not a technical error.
Italian daily Corriere della Sera made this claim, citing two sources familiar with the recent discussions between New Delhi and Washington. A total of 260 people were killed in the accident. The crash is one of the worst aviation accidents in the country for the past few decades. However, the Italian newspaper’s account is based on unknown sources and preliminary interpretations, and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has not yet released its final report.
According to a report in Corriere della Sera, Indian investigators have determined that the accident that occurred in June 2025 after a fuel cut in the engine was caused by a deliberate act and not a mechanical failure. And officials are now preparing to prepare their final report. US experts assisting the research described the findings as “a breakthrough”, the paper wrote.
According to a report in the Times of India, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner operated by Air India took off from Ahmedabad airport. It crashed shortly after takeoff. A total of 260 people were killed in the crash, including students, passengers and crew members. Only one passenger was rescued alive.
A preliminary report released by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau in July 2025 stated that shortly after takeoff, the plane’s fuel control switches were moved from a “run” to a “cut-off” position. The bureau’s report also mentions cockpit exchanges. In the cockpit voice recording, one pilot is heard asking another why he cut off fuel. The other pilot replied that he did not.
The government has so far refrained from directly blaming the pilots for the crash, despite the pilots’ conversations recorded in the cockpit and reports from foreign experts pointing to human negligence.
The Italian newspaper quoted a source as saying that investigators found that the plane’s commander pilot turned off the engine fuel control switches before the crash, causing the plane to lose speed and crash to the ground. Captain Sumit Sabharwal was the pilot-in-command and the first officer, Clive Kunder, was the co-pilot.
Captain Sumit Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder were among the 260 people killed in the crash.
“The main suspect is Captain Sumit Sabharwal, who was suffering from depression for a month before the accident. ”
According to Corriere della Sera, the final research report is also expected to include recommendations on the pilots’ ongoing psychological evaluation and mental health monitoring.
