The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has raised fresh concerns over the preliminary findings of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) into the Air India Flight 171 accident, saying that critical cockpit warning data seems to have been deliberately left out.
The pilots' body alleged that the report does not fully reflect evidence that could indicate an electrical malfunction before the simultaneous loss of engine power, ToI reported on June 20.
Addressing a press conference on Friday, FIP president Capt C. Randhawa said the association believes the investigation should include detailed simulator-based reconstruction before the final report is issued.
According to the federation, it has formally urged the government to direct the AAIB to carry out such validation exercises in connection with the June 12, 2025 crash.
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The pilots’ body argued that if an electrical failure had occurred in the manner it suspects, the cockpit systems would likely have generated multiple caution messages and accompanying audio alerts.
Randhawa maintained that such warnings would ordinarily be preserved in the cockpit voice recorder and contended that the preliminary findings did not present the sequence of alerts that would be expected under those circumstances.
FIP also questioned the condition of the aircraft’s flight data recorder, which was installed in the tail section. Randhawa noted that although the tail structure was recovered in relatively intact condition, the recorder reportedly suffered extensive damage.
He suggested that because the unit depends exclusively on electrical power, its condition deserved closer scrutiny as part of the broader examination into a possible power-related issue.
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To support its position, the federation commissioned a series of 10 independent simulator exercises using a Boeing 787 platform after, according to the association, repeated requests for comparable official testing did not result in such trials being conducted.
Based on those simulations, FIP claimed that the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) -- an emergency system designed to restore essential hydraulic and electrical functions following a major power loss -- would require about 18 seconds to deploy and re-establish hydraulic pressure after both engines shut down. The association said this differs significantly from the sequence outlined in the preliminary report, which indicated that the RAT became operational roughly four seconds after the fuel control switches cut fuel supply to the engines.
Seeking to reinforce its demand for simulation-based verification, Randhawa referred to the investigation into the 2009 emergency landing of a US Airways aircraft on the Hudson River.
He recalled that investigators initially questioned the crew’s decision-making but altered their assessment after conducting dozens of simulator runs, concluding that returning safely to the departure airport would not have been feasible within the available time.
Drawing a parallel with the present case, the FIP chief argued that comprehensive testing is particularly important because the pilots involved in the Air India crash are no longer alive to present their version of events.
The federation said objective reconstruction through simulator analysis would help ensure that conclusions reached in the final report are supported by replicable technical evidence and provide greater confidence in the probe.
