THE deadly Air India crash may have been the result of a human act inside the cockpit, a top aviation expert has warned.
Captain Steve Scheibner suggested there was a “human hand” behind the tragedy of fight AI 171 – and insisted the aircraft itself was not to blame.
Scheibner, a seasoned pilot and respected aviation analyst, told Piers Morgan Uncensored: “I don’t think Boeing has fault in this one.
“In my opinion, the aircraft was functioning as it was intended to, and I don’t believe there was any issue with this specific plane.”
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner plummeted into a doctors’ hostel just seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad on July 13.
The incident resulted in the deaths of 241 passengers and 19 individuals on the ground, making it one of the most catastrophic accidents in aviation history, with only one passenger surviving against all odds.
Although initial reports suggested a tragic malfunction, Scheibner was straightforward: “If you place both fuel cutoff switches to cut off, it will starve the engines of fuel, causing both to flame out.”
And whether it was intentional or a mistake, he said: “Some things are plain and some things are clear, whether it was intentional, placing of the fuel control switches to cut off, or unintentional, that’s two different things.
“But I really firmly believe that there had to be a human hand on both of those for them to go to cut off.”
His comments follow a damning preliminary report by Indian crash investigators, which found the Dreamliner’s fuel switches were manually moved from “RUN” to “CUTOFF” shortly after liftoff – an action that shut down both engines and triggered a fatal loss of thrust.
They were turned back to “RUN” seconds before the crash, but it was too late.
Cockpit audio captured one pilot asking: “Why did you cut off?” and the other replying, “I didn’t.”
Neither crew member was identified in the report, which also refrained from stating whether the switches were moved by mistake or by deliberate action.
“There is no universe where there’s any procedure ever in the history of commercial flight where you place both fuel control switches to cut off, leave them there for 10 seconds, right after rotate,” Scheibner said, referencing the moment of liftoff.
‘Two and a half billion to one’
The aviation expert said the offs of a dual engine flameout on a Boeing 787 seconds after takeoff were “two and a half billion to one”.
“Everything just seems unbelievable,” he added.
Scheibner went on to explain: “There is no universe where there’s any procedure ever in the history of commercial flight where you place both fuel control switches to cut off, leave them there for 10 seconds, right after, rotate, there is just not a scenario that that fits into.
“And this according to the report, that’s what happened.”
Key findings of the report:
- Dual engine shutdown – fuel cutoff switches moved from ‘RUN’ to ‘CUTOFF’
- Confusion between pilots – cockpit audio confirms one pilot asked ‘why did you cutoff’, the other replied ‘I didn’t’
- RAT deployed – as seen in CCTV footage before the crash
- Engine relight attempted – fuel switches were found returned to the “RUN” at crash site
- 32 seconds – the time the aircraft was airborne before it crashed
- Thrust levers mismatch – Thrust levers found at idle but black box data shows takeoff thrust was still engaged
- Fuel test pass – fuel was clean without any contamination
- Normal take-off set-up – Flaps and landing gear correctly configured
- No bird activity – clear skies, good visibility, light winds
- Pilot credentials clear – both medically fit and rested
- No sabotage detected – although FAA alerted over a known fuel switch vulnerability not checked by Air India
- Aircraft loading – the flight was within weight and balance limits
Captain Scheibner isn’t the only one raising red flags.
Ex-pilot and aviation commentator Terry Tozer also weighed in this week, calling the odds of accidental switch-off “vanishingly small”.
He told The Sun: “The fuel cutoff switches were actioned shortly after lift off from RUN to CUTOFF.
“That implies that somebody did that as a conscious human action, because so far as we understand, these switches have a lock mechanism.”
“They have to be lifted in order to be moved,” he explained.
“Otherwise they lock in position.”
Tozer flatly dismissed the idea of accidental flicking, saying: “I can’t see why any pilot would have their hands anywhere near the area where these switches are located.”
Tragic profile emerges
The growing suspicion around the crash deepens with revelations about the pilot at the helm.
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a respected 56-year-old veteran, was reportedly just months from retirement and grieving the recent death of his mum.
Neighbours say he was planning to leave flying altogether to care for his 92-year-old father.
“Just one or two more flights… then I’m going to just be with Papa,” he reportedly told a friend.
But now, Captain Sabharwal’s mental health is under scrutiny.
Aviation sources in India told The Telegraph he had battled depression and taken time off in the years before the crash.
Though he passed a Class I medical exam in September 2024, investigators are now combing through his medical records for clues.
Leading Indian aviation expert Captain Mohan Ranganathan said: “I have heard from several Air India pilots who told me he had some depression and mental health issues. He had taken time off from flying in the last three to four years.”
Families of the victims who tragically died in the crash have slammed the preliminary report as a cover-up.
They have dubbed the investigation “biased” and said it only appears to “blame the dead pilots”.
The Airline Pilots’ Association of India (APAI) rejected the “tone and direction” of the inquiry and said it came without sufficient evidence.
Air India CEO Campbell Wilson also urged caution, warning staff in a leaked memo that the probe was far from over.
“The preliminary report identified no cause nor made any recommendations,” he wrote, adding that “it provided both greater clarity and opened additional questions.”
No fault found with aircraft
The report confirmed that there were no mechanical issues, no bird strikes, and no fuel contamination.
The aircraft’s configuration for takeoff was normal, and both pilots were medically cleared and well-rested.
It also highlighted that Boeing’s fuel control switches — which require lifting and unlocking before moving — were working as designed.
The FAA had issued a non-binding notice in 2018 about switch locking mechanisms on similar aircraft, but no airworthiness directive followed, and Air India admitted it had not carried out the suggested inspections.
Still, both Scheibner and Tozer agree: it’s extraordinarily unlikely this was a case of pure human error.
“We do know that the switches were placed to cut off,” said Scheibner.
“And 10 seconds later they were placed back to run… if one did it, the other probably was the one that undid it.”
