Airline Pilots’ Association seeks legal recourse to be part of AI171 crash probe

Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA) is considering legal action to ensure its members are included in the probe into the Air India Boeing 787-8 crash, newswire PTI reported.

In a statement after the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released its preliminary report on the Air India crash in Ahmedabad, ALPA India said it is concerned that the preliminary AAIB report has been shared with the media without any responsible official signature or attribution.

It also flagged lack of transparency in investigations. “Investigations continue to be shrouded in secrecy, undermining credibility and public trust,” the report said. “Qualified, experienced personnel—especially line pilots—are still not being included in the investigation team,” it added.

ALPA also questioned the way sensitive investigation details were selectively leaked to international media.

“The tone and direction of the investigation suggest a bias toward pilot error,” ALPA India said, categorically rejecting this presumption and insisting on a “fair, fact-based” inquiry.

ALPA had earlier requested to be included as observers in the investigation process to ensure transparency and accountability.

ALPA-India represents more than 800 pilots from both airline and helicopter operations across India, is affiliated with the International Federation of Airline Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA), a global body representing around 100,000 pilots from over 100 countries.

In light of the AAIB’s initial report, ALPA-India representatives are set to meet with officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday to raise several concerns related to the investigation, PTI reported.

Air India flight AI171, which crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12, experienced a dual engine shutdown seconds after take-off, according to a preliminary report released by Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB).

Just moments after take-off, both engines abruptly shut down. The engine fuel cut-off switches were recorded transitioning from 'RUN' to 'CUTOFF' positions in rapid succession—just one second apart, the 15-page report said. Cockpit voice recordings captured one pilot asking “why did he cutoff”, the AAIB report said. “The other pilot responded that he did not do so,” it added.

The aircraft’s Ram Air Turbine (RAT), a backup power source that deploys during electrical emergencies, was observed deploying immediately after lift-off, according to the CCTV footage obtained from the airport by AAIB.

To re-start the engines, fuel control switches are moved from ‘CUTOFF’ to ‘RUN’ while the aircraft is inflight, the AAIB report said. While Engine 1’s core deceleration stopped, reversed and started to progress to recovery, Engine 2 was able to relight but could not arrest core speed deceleration and re-introduced fuel repeatedly to increase core speed acceleration and recovery, the report noted.

The AI171 crash killed all but one of the 242 people on board and several others inside BJ Medical College in Ahmedabad, where the aircraft turned into a fireball.