Pilot asked co-pilot why he ‘cut off’ the fuel, seconds later 260 people died. Court just asked his father to not carry the ‘burden’

India’s Supreme Court has finally cleared the pilot of the horrific Air India Dreamliner crash that tragically killed 260 people back in June. This is a massive development for Captain Sumeet Sabharwal’s family, who have been fighting desperately to clear his name. The court made it absolutely clear Friday that Captain Sabharwal, who was flying Air India flight AI-171, is not to blame for the nightmare.

Speaking directly to the Captain’s grieving father, the bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi offered powerful words of solace. They told him, “Don’t carry the burden on yourself. The pilot is not to be blamed.” I think that’s an incredibly important statement to make, especially since the pilot’s father had been tirelessly calling for an independent investigation into causes other than his son’s actions.

The court confirmed that even the official accident report avoids placing blame on Sabharwal. The crash itself was devastating. Flight AI-171 was headed for London Gatwick, but it slammed into a building used as doctors’ accommodation at the Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Medical College and Civil Hospital just seconds after takeoff, per Express.

Airplane pilot’s father can rest easy, his son did the right things

The casualty numbers are truly awful. We’re talking about 241 people killed on board and another 19 people on the ground. There was only one survivor from the crash. You know, the core mystery here centers on a chilling detail from the cockpit. The preliminary report released in July by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau or AAIB found that the switches controlling the fuel flow to both of the jet’s engines were somehow turned off. This starved the engines and caused a complete and total power loss. That is an awful scenario for any pilot to face.

What makes this finding so hard to hear is the audio recording cited in that report. On the recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other pilot why he “cut off” the fuel supply. The other pilot immediately responds that he definitely didn’t do it. While the AAIB report didn’t specify which pilot made which comment, the implication is terrifying. You’ve got to wonder what was happening in those final seconds.

Despite that incredibly strange audio, Justice Kant was adamant that the pilot isn’t at fault. He addressed the preliminary report directly, noting, “One pilot asked whether the fuel was cut off by the other; the other said no. There’s no suggestion of fault in that report.”

He went on to completely slam claims that Sabharwal was to blame, calling those accusations “nasty.” He insisted that “no one in India believes it was the pilot’s fault.” It’s great to see the court pushing back so strongly against speculation and defending the Captain’s reputation.

It’s also worth remembering that the Boeing 787 Dreamliner itself was under scrutiny around the time of the crash. Just a month before, in May, the FAA had ordered inspections on certain 787s. This was prompted by reports of leaks in the potable water system. That’s not something you’d immediately think of as a critical danger, but it was a serious issue.

Operators were specifically told to look for missing or damaged sealants because water was seeping into the electronics equipment bays. This could risk electrical shorts and potentially cause the loss of critical flight systems. That could be absolutely catastrophic. Flight bosses were mandated to carry out these inspections by June 18, which was only six days after this tragic crash. You can see why the pilot’s father wanted other potential mechanical causes investigated, especially when you consider the stakes of losing critical systems.