Air India Ahmedabad Crash: Pilots' union warns against unfounded blame, demands data-driven probe

This handout photograph taken and posted on the X (formerly Twitter) account of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) on June 12, 2025 shows the tailpiece of Air India flight AI171 after it crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad. Fuel control switches to the engines of an Air India flight that crashed shortly after takeoff, killing 260 people, were moved from the 'run' to the 'cutoff' position moments before impact, a preliminary investigation report said early on July 12. (AFP)

As the debate rages over the preliminary report in the Ahmedabad Air India crash last month that claimed nearly 300 lives, the pilots’ union has once again raised concerns over the ‘speculative commentary.’

In a letter issued on Wednesday, the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) expressed serious concern regarding the preliminary findings and public discourse surrounding the tragic crash of Air India flight AI-171 in Ahmedabad.

“At the outset, we would like to register our dissatisfaction with the exclusion of pilot representatives from the investigation process. We also firmly object to the way in which the preliminary report has been interpreted and presented publicly,” the letter said.

The letter questioned the manner in which the cockpit recording was released in public to build a commentary against the pilots of the ill-fated Ahmedabad-London flight. “The report, as released, lacks comprehensive data and appears to rely selectively on paraphrased cockpit voice recordings to suggest pilot error and question the professional competence and integrity of the flight crew. This approach is neither objective nor complete. We therefore urge our members and the general public not to lend credence to such premature conclusions,” the union said in the letter.

Demanding a fair probe, the union said that any conclusion drawn prior to a thorough investigation was ‘irresponsible.’ “Assigning blame before a thorough, transparent, and data-driven investigation is both premature and irresponsible. Such speculative commentary undermines the professionalism of highly trained crew members and causes undue distress to their families and colleagues,” the letter added.

A five-member expert team, led by Director of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau Sanjay Kumar Singh, is probing the deadly Air India crash. The remaining team members are from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA): Deputy Director Vipin Venu Varakoth, Assistant Director Veeraragavan K, and Air Safety Officer Vaishnav Vijayakumar. The June 12 crash, one of the deadliest in India's aviation history claimed 260 lives.