Short answer: no official investigator has said so. The crash is still under investigation, and India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has not stated a cause, intentional or otherwise.
Here is what is on the record. Air India Flight 171, a Boeing 787-8 bound for London, crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025, about 30 seconds after takeoff. The AAIB's preliminary report, released July 12, 2025, found that the two engine fuel-control switches moved from RUN to CUTOFF about one second apart, shortly after liftoff, cutting fuel to both engines. The cockpit voice recording captured one pilot asking the other why he had cut off the fuel, and the other replying that he had not. The report did not conclude why the switches moved and did not recommend actions to operators or manufacturers.
That is why people are split. One reading is that an electrical or technical fault disturbed the aircraft and the switch movements were a symptom. The other reads the cockpit audio as a deliberate act by one pilot. Calling it a suicide goes beyond what the evidence shows so far. The word investigators use is an intentional action, and that is still an open question. Reports in 2026 say the switches tested without defect, which makes a simple slip harder to explain, but that does not settle who or what moved them. AAIB had said a draft final report was expected around October 2026, so check for it before drawing conclusions.
The Wikipedia article on Air India Flight 171 collects the timeline and the report references. Read the AAIB preliminary report itself if you want the primary text. Anyone who has followed the final report, or who has aviation-safety background, is welcome to add what they know.
🕒 As of October 2026
