Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu strongly condemned the western media reports on 20 July 2025, which claimed anticipated and selfish coverage for the investigation of the Air India aircraft accident in Ahmedabad on 12 June 2025. Naidu praised the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), saying that it achieved remarkable success in decoding the damaged black box in India itself, which was earlier sent abroad. He said, “I believe in AAIB. He has done a great job of decoding the black box in India.”
Air India’s Boeing 787-8 aircraft (Udaan AI171) crashed immediately after flying from Ahmedabad to London’s Gatvic Airport, killing 260 people, including 241 passengers and crew members and 19 people present on land. AAIB’s preliminary report (July 12) revealed that the fuel cutoff switches of both engines moved from ‘run’ to ‘cutoff’ position, which stopped fuel supply to engines. In a conversation between the pilots in the cockpit, one asked, “Why did you stop fuel?” The other answered, “I did not.” However, it is not clear in the report whether it was a mistake or deliberately.
Western media, especially the Wall Street Journal claimed that captain Sumit Sabharwal closed the fuel switch, which was rejected by the AAIB and the Indian pilots’ organization (FIP). FIP chief CS Randhawa said, “The report is nowhere to say that it was the pilot’s fault. We condemn such wrong news.” Aaib issued an appeal on July 17, stating that such “selected and unconfirmed” reports can damage the integrity of the investigation and respect the feelings of the families of the victims.
Naidu insisted that it is unfair to conclude until the final report comes and the government is committed to safety measures. The investigation is investigating all aspects, including possible sabotage, including Boeing, GE and international experts. The accident is one of the most deadly accidents in Indian aviation history, and Aaib’s indigenous decoding ability shows India’s technological progress.
