The Supreme Court on Monday, September 22, strongly criticized reports suggesting that the pilots of the ill-fated Air India flight AI 171 deliberately cut off fuel before the tragic crash that killed over 275 people.

Calling the narrative “unfortunate” and “irresponsible,” the apex court made the remarks while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking an independent investigation into the June 12 disaster.

The top court has issued notices to the Union government, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) seeking their responses.

The AAIB had released a preliminary report in July, stating that both engine fuel cutoff switches had been moved from RUN to CUTOFF just seconds after takeoff, causing both engines to lose power almost simultaneously.

According to the report, the aircraft had reached its peak airspeed of 180 knots at 08:08:42 UTC when the fuel supply to both engines was cut off one after the other within a one-second interval.

The cockpit voice recorder also captured one pilot asking the other why he had cut off the fuel, to which the response was a denial.

At the time of the incident, the co-pilot was flying the plane while the captain was monitoring. The London-bound Boeing aircraft took off from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport with 242 people onboard, including 12 crew members.

The crash occurred just seconds later, when the plane plunged into the BJ Medical College hostel building and exploded due to its heavy fuel load, killing nearly everyone onboard and many on the ground. Only one passenger survived.

The flight was commanded by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a seasoned Line Training Captain with 8,200 flight hours, while First Officer Clive Kunder had logged 1,100 flight hours.

The Supreme Court’s intervention is expected to bring clarity and accountability to one of India’s deadliest aviation tragedies.