The Ahmedabad "Ghost" in the Cockpit: Why an Italian Paper is Blaming the Air India Pilot

The investigation into India's deadliest aviation disaster of the decade has taken a sensational turn in the European press. While New Delhi remains officially tight-lipped, Italy’s leading newspaper, Corriere della Sera, has published a report claiming that Captain Sumeet Sabharwal deliberately shut off the fuel switches shortly after takeoff on June 12, 2025.

This matters because the "intentional act" theory, if adopted, could prevent a global grounding of the Boeing 787 fleet; by attributing the deaths of 260 people to human intervention rather than mechanical failure, the report suggests a "political" alignment between Indian and US investigators to preserve the credibility of a billion-dollar aircraft model.

The BIGSTORY Angle (The Reframe)

While the mainstream narrative is focused on "Pilot Depression," the real BIGSTORY is the "Boeing Shield" Geopolitics. The Italian report cites "Western aviation sources" who allege that India is under immense pressure from US agencies (NTSB) to accept the pilot-blame theory.

The reframe is this: Is the dead pilot being used as a convenient scapegoat? Indian pilot unions argue that the Boeing 787's fuel control switches had a known "disengagement" flaw mentioned in a 2018 FAA advisory. By leaking this "suicide" narrative to an Italian outlet, stakeholders may be attempting to "test the waters" of public opinion before the official final report is released in three weeks, as mandated by the Supreme Court yesterday.

The Context (Rapid Fire)

• The Trigger: The Corriere della Sera report published on Feb 11, 2026, just as the Supreme Court set a 3-week deadline for the AAIB's final findings.
• The Backstory: AI 171 (Ahmedabad to London) crashed seconds after takeoff. The preliminary report confirmed the fuel switches were moved to "CUTOFF," but cockpit audio showed one pilot asking "Why did you turn off the engines?" and the other replying "It wasn't me."
• The Escalation: The Italian report claims "cleaned-up audio" from Washington labs now definitively identifies the commander’s voice taking the fatal action.

The Chessboard (Key Players)

• Captain Sumeet Sabharwal: The veteran pilot (15,600 hours) identified as the primary suspect. His family has vehemently denied "depression" rumors, calling them a smear campaign.
• Corriere della Sera: The whistleblower daily that claims India’s shift in stance is due to "threats to re-evaluate the security level of Indian airlines."
• Solicitor General Tushar Mehta: Told the Supreme Court on Feb 11 that "no one intends to hold the pilots responsible" and the probe is purely technical—a direct contradiction to the Italian claims.

The Implications (Your Wallet & World)

• Short Term: Mental Health Crackdown. Regardless of the outcome, expect the DGCA to implement mandatory, high-frequency psychological evaluations for all Indian commercial pilots.
• Long Term: Fleet Stability. If the "Human Act" theory is accepted, Air India’s massive order of Boeing 787s remains on track. If a "Technical Flaw" were proven, it could trigger a multi-billion dollar liability crisis for Boeing and force a massive grounding of Dreamliners worldwide.

The Steel Man (The Counter-Argument)

The strongest argument for the "Intentional Act" theory is the lack of mechanical evidence. US experts conducting simulator tests reportedly failed to find any technical scenario where both engines would shut down simultaneously without human intervention. From a purely engineering standpoint, if the hardware shows no flaw, the focus must logically shift to the only remaining variable: the people in the cockpit.

The Closing Question

Is "Pilot Error" becoming the default excuse to protect the global aerospace industry's bottom line, or are we ignoring a genuine mental health crisis in our cockpits? Share your take in the comments.

FAQs

• Q: Did the Air India pilot crash the plane on purpose?
• A: According to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, investigators believe Captain Sumeet Sabharwal intentionally cut the fuel supply, though Indian authorities have not yet confirmed this.
• Q: What is the latest on the Air India 171 crash investigation?
• A: On Feb 11, 2026, the Supreme Court of India ordered the AAIB to submit its final report within three weeks, while cautioning against premature speculation.
• Q: Who was the pilot of Air India Flight 171?
• A: Captain Sumeet Sabharwal was the pilot-in-command. He was a veteran with over 8,600 hours on the Boeing 787 specifically.

Sources: Hindustan Times, India Today, The Hindu