An Indian pilot group has written to the aviation ministry suggesting that an electrical failure, and not pilot action, could have caused the Air India crash last year.
The submission by the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), which has more than 5,000 members, comes ahead of the expected final report into the crash of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that killed 260 people shortly after take-off on June 12, 2025.
As required by international law, India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) published a preliminary report on July 12, one month after the disaster, when the plane exploded into flames shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad in western India.
The 15-page document said the fuel supply to the jet's engines was cut off moments before impact, raising questions about possible pilot error. It did not state whether the turning off of the fuel switches was due to pilot manoeuvre or a malfunction.
The FIP letter, dated May 1 and seen by AFP, sets out what it called a "technical note" that "suggests a credible cause" requiring further investigation.
"A prelift-off electrical disturbance could have caused unintended relay operation and dual engine fuel cut-off without pilot input", it reads.
"Media reports...continue to suggest pilot action," it adds. "However, the International Civil Aviation Organisation... requires all credible technical causes be ruled out first."
The final report is expected next month, within a year of the crash.
"It is submitted that this may be treated as a testable hypothesis and examined through detailed electrical analysis... Technical causes cannot be ruled out till this analysis is made," it argues.
(With inputs from AFP)
