Because this column is about the tragic Air India crash at Ahmedabad airport, I want to begin with a few qualifications before we go any further.
I am, by no means, an aviation expert. But then, neither are 95 per cent of the people who have commented on the crash, assigned blame, claimed to know what really happened, or trashed Air India.
My only qualification for writing on this subject is that I put my life on the line about twice every week. That’s how many flights I take, most of them on Air India. So if air travel — especially on Boeing aircraft or with Air India — is this susceptible to random tragedy, then I have a personal stake in knowing what actually happened.
But here’s the problem: even after the passage of several days and the publication of an inquiry report into the crash, I am more confused than ever.
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Here’s what worries me:
The interim inquiry report tells us that the crash was caused by a disruption in fuel supply to the aircraft’s engines. It says that the switches controlling the fuel flow were turned off and then back on. But by the time the pilots tried to restore fuel, it was too late. The aircraft crashed.
According to the report, the pilots noticed the loss of fuel. It quotes a snatch of cockpit conversation where one pilot asks the other if he had cut off the supply. The reply: no, he had not.
Even before this report was released to the Indian public, on whose behalf and at whose expense the inquiry was conducted, it was leaked, at least in part, to the foreign media. Who leaked it? Why? Has there been any investigation into the leak? We have no answers. Nor does it look like we will get any. What does this failure tell us about India’s aviation authorities, or about the integrity of the process? You can draw your own conclusions.
The people the report was leaked to clearly shared it with Western media outlets along with their own interpretation. That interpretation, to put it crudely, was: “these stupid Indian pilots screwed up by shutting off the fuel. There was nothing wrong with the plane. It was the pilots who erred.”
With some notable exceptions — who were more circumspect — the rest of the Western media ran wild with the ‘stupid Indians crashed the plane’ narrative for three full days. The report was rumoured to be ready on a Monday. By Tuesday, the first ‘pilots did it’ stories appeared in the Western media. After that narrative had run unchecked across the global press, the Indian government finally released the report — quietly, in the dead of night, under the cover of darkness.
No press conference. No official explanation. Nothing.
In fact, the report stated that it had no recommendations for the aircraft or engine manufacturers. This was widely, and not unreasonably, interpreted to mean the plane and its engines had played no role in the crash.
So the general conclusion, led by the Western media, which had access to the leaked report, was that the crash was caused by pilot error. And, to our eternal shame, much of Indian media, including news channels and social media, parroted this line.
But here’s the thing: the report doesn’t explicitly blame the pilots. And you could argue that the quoted cockpit exchange actually exonerates them: they were surprised by the sudden fuel loss and denied having had anything to do with it.
Obviously, it is wrong to blame pilots who had hours of experience and impeccable records because they are not alive to defend themselves. But ‘it was the pilots’ theory also severely damages the reputation of Air India. Would international travellers want to fly with an airline perceived to employ incompetent pilots?
Pilot associations in India and abroad have justifiably objected to how the report was spun. But not enough have raised the more serious question: shouldn’t action be taken against those who leaked the report to vested interests, and brought Indian aviation, its pilots, and Air India into such disrepute? Isn’t that a firing offence?
From a passenger’s perspective, we still don’t know what to make of it all. Could the pilots have accidentally switched the fuel off and on? It seems more and more unlikely. This isn’t just a matter of flipping a switch; it involves multiple steps. We are being asked to believe that the pilots shut off both fuel switches off, turned them back on, and then tried to stabilise the aircraft — all within the 30 seconds or so the aircraft was airborne. I suppose it’s possible. But it certainly doesn’t sound likely.
There is another theory now floating around on social media: that the pilots did it on purpose. I won’t dignify that with much comment, except to say there is nothing in either man’s record to suggest he would commit mass murder. And even if one of them was suicidal — which, again, there is no evidence for — why do it this way? There are simpler, less catastrophic ways to die.
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So what did happen?
The frightening truth is: we have no idea.
It’s possible that a mechanical failure caused the fuel valve to shut or that the switch itself was defective. There have been reports of similar issues on other aircraft. But the report dismisses these possibilities and gives a clean chit to the aircraft and its systems.
I don’t want to do what the Western media did and scapegoat someone without proof. But ever since the crash, questions have been raised about Boeing. In recent years, Boeing’s reputation has been trashed by accusations that it cut corners to save money and increase profits. The company is still reeling from the 737 MAX scandal, and its senior executives have been grilled and humiliated by US Congressional committees.
If even a part of the crash were linked to Boeing’s failures, it would set the company into a tailspin from which it might never recover.
So did Boeing leak the report? Did it push the ‘pilot error’ narrative? It has the resources to influence media coverage and enough money to buy off Indian officials.
But I am not going to play that game. Just as it is wrong to blame pilots without proper evidence, it’s equally wrong to accuse Boeing without conclusive proof.
Which leaves us passengers right where we started.
A plane crashed under mysterious circumstances. An interim report was selectively leaked and twisted into an effort to crucify two dead pilots. And we are left asking: is it any safer to fly now? Can we be sure this won’t happen again?
We still have no answers.
Vir Sanghvi is a print and television journalist, and talk show host. He tweets @virsanghvi. Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)