Air India crash: AAIB conducts psychological autopsy, probe enters final phase | Today’s news
India’s Air Accidents Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has reportedly prepared a transcript of the cockpit voice recorder, conducted a psychological autopsy and moved into the final stages of its investigation into the deadly Air India crash in 2025 that killed 260 people, a court filing showed.
According to Reuters, the record did not identify whose psychological autopsy was conducted, nor did it release any findings about the Air India Boeing 787 crash.
As many as 260 people died – 241 of 242 on board and 19 on the ground – in a plane crash in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on 12 June 2025.
The investigation so far
Analysis of data obtained in late May from the engine monitoring unit was still awaited and an assessment of certain organizational factors was still underway, the AAIB said, according to Reuters, without giving further details.
The AAIB said investigators questioned Air India’s 787 pilots, crew members who had previously flown with the pilots of the crashed plane, technical staff involved in preparing the jet, air traffic controllers, meteorological officials and human factors specialists, Reuters reported.
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The families of the flight crew were also contacted at their residences during the early stages of the investigation, the AAIB said in a filing on Tuesday.
One of the AAIB’s home visits last year upset Pushkar Raj Sabharwal, the captain’s father, who said officials suggested his son had reduced the fuel in the plane’s engines after takeoff.
He filed a lawsuit which led to the disclosure of information by the AAIB in a court filing.
The AAIB said media speculation and narratives attributing blame to the pilots had caused some witnesses to become “restrictive and unresponsive”.
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She said the probe is now in the analysis phase, with findings and conclusions being drawn across operational, technical, human factors and organizational areas.
The AAIB said it expected the remaining investigative activities to be completed within around six weeks, subject to outstanding “external dependencies”.
A draft of the final report is expected around October, after which it will be circulated to relevant participating countries for comments before it is finalized and published, the filing said.
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The US National Transportation Safety Board is one of the parties to receive the draft report.
According to an early assessment by US officials published by Reuters last year, a recording of the cockpit dialogue between the two pilots supported the view that the captain had cut fuel to his engines.
The AAIB said at the time that it was “too early to reach any definitive conclusions”.
Air India plane crash
Air India Boeing 787-8 flight AI171, en route to London Gatwick Airport, was piloted by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and co-pilot Captain Clive Kunder.
The crash, which occurred after the plane took off from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, killed 260 people — 169 Indians, 52 British, seven Portuguese nationals, one Canadian and 12 crew members — including 241 passengers and crew on board.
Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was also among the victims. Only one person, Vishwashkumar Ramesh, survived the crash. The video showed him exiting the plane, which burned after the crash. His brother died.
(With inputs from Reuters)
