Cause of Air India Crash Killing 260... Focus on Captain's 'Suicide Flight' Possibility

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[Financial News]  Regarding the Air India passenger plane crash near Ahmedabad Airport in western India last month, the possibility of the captain's 'suicide flight' has been raised.

On the 13th (local time), the British daily Telegraph reported that investigators from the investigation authorities had obtained the medical records of Captain Sumit Sabharwal (56), who piloted the crashed plane, and claims have emerged that he suffered from depression and mental health issues.

Indian aviation safety expert Mohan Ranganathan told the Telegraph, "Several Air India pilots said he had depression and mental health issues. He had stopped flying and took sick leave for 3-4 years," adding, "(However) the captain would have been certified by the company as having no health issues for flying. A certificate of qualification would have been issued."

According to the Telegraph, Captain Sabharwal was reportedly considering early retirement to take care of his elderly father, who was left alone after his mother passed away in 2022, and was nearing retirement.

One of Captain Sabharwal's colleagues said, "We are human too. There are, of course, crew members with mental health issues, but operations are immediately suspended."

Captain Sabharwal, who joined Air India in 1994, was a veteran pilot with over 15,000 hours of flight experience, having flown the same type of aircraft as the crashed plane for over 8,000 hours. He was also found to have passed a first-class health examination assessing the psychological and physical abilities of pilots last September.

First Officer Clive Kundar (28) came from a family working in the aviation industry and had over 3,400 hours of flight experience. He too had completed a first-class examination without issues within the last two years.

Air India flight AI 171 from Ahmedabad, India to London, UK, suddenly crashed shortly after takeoff on the 12th of last month, killing 260 passengers and crew members. Only one British passenger of Indian origin survived.

Recently the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) under the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation pointed to the engine's fuel switch being turned off shortly after takeoff as the cause of the accident in a preliminary investigation report.

y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter