It has been a year since the accident of Air India flight AI-171 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The Federation of Indian Pilots Association (FIPA) on Thursday raised questions on the investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). In this, FIPA alleged that there was a lack of sufficient technical expertise. Let us tell you that 260 people lost their lives in the accident that took place on June 12, 2025. 241 passengers and crew members were killed in this. After the crash, DGCA and AAIB started investigating the matter.
FIP President CS Randhawa said that some technical issues have been mentioned in the preliminary investigation report released on July 11, 2025, but the answers to many of them are still not clear. He claimed that there are discrepancies regarding the timing of the engine failure and other technical details presented in the report.
CS Randhawa said that the western media had published a report that the fuel switch was closed. Mistakes were revealed in the initial report of AAIB and Ministry of Civil Aviation. He said that there was a serious electrical fault in the plane. About 20 letters have been written to AAIB, Ministry and all departments to bring out this truth. Even today we cannot forget this accident.
The FIP president said that the initial report had attempted to suggest that the accident was caused by the fuel switch being closed. The information presented in this manner created the public perception that the pilots might have made a mistake. But FIP said from the beginning that the fuel supply had stopped automatically. Randhawa said that he raised this issue repeatedly but no attention was paid.
The FIP president alleged that two retired officers were appointed to investigate the accident, but such accidents require special technical expertise. He said that during the investigation a story was fabricated that the pilot was not mentally stable. He said that FIP had opposed such speculations from the beginning. It was also said that the investigation should focus on technical flaws and aircraft systems rather than the pilots.
CS Randhawa demanded investigation of all aircraft with technical profile similar to AI-171. He said the aircraft's construction and key systems included parts from Boeing, Honeywell and other companies. However, he alleged that these companies were given a clean chit at the very beginning of the investigation.
Randhawa said that FIP has enough evidence and has written a letter to the government on this issue. He raised the question why important information revealed during the investigation was not made public on time. He also said that an attempt has been made to hold the pilot responsible for his death in the accident without any concrete evidence.
FIP President said that the fight against AAIB is continuing. He stressed that the entire truth of the accident should be revealed to prevent such incidents at the global level. He said that even after one year, the final report not being released yet raises many questions.
CS Randhawa also expressed concern about compensation and help for the families of the deceased. He demanded that Air India should provide adequate assistance to all the affected families and that it was unfair to insist on formalities like affidavits for compensation.
He alleged that Vishwas Kumar, the sole survivor of the accident, was interrogated by AAIB for a long time. Randhawa said that the investigating agencies had contacted the pilot's family the very next day and the family had also raised questions regarding the investigation of the black box. He said that despite claims of the country having a decoding system, the black box was sent to the US twice for analysis. FIP President said that we believe that there should be a fair, transparent and scientific investigation of the entire incident to provide justice to the families of the deceased and to prevent such accidents in future.
Report: Mihir Soni
