"Speculative": US transport safety agency NTSB criticizes media stories of the Air India tragedy that blame the pilot

Following media reports about the senior pilot's involvement in turning off the fuel switches for both engines, Jennifer Homendy, chair of the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), stated on Friday that it is too soon to make any conclusions in the investigation into the fatal June 12 crash of Air India Flight 171.

The media's coverage of the Air India tragedy was deemed "premature and speculative" by NTSB chairwoman Homendy.

With assistance from the NTSB, India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is looking into the June 12 crash of the Air India Boeing 787-7 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, which lost 260 lives.
Campbell Wilson, the CEO of Air India, and the AAIB have both asked the public to refrain from conjecture while the probe is still ongoing.
"Recent media reports about the crash of the Air India 171 are speculative and premature. The preliminary report from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau was just made public. This kind of investigation takes time. We will continue to support the AAIB's ongoing inquiry and wholeheartedly endorse its public appeal, which was made public on Thursday. "The AAIB should be contacted with any investigative inquiries," the NTSB published Homendy's X statement.

Shortly after takeoff, two fuel management switches on board the Boeing 787 Dreamliner were shifted to the "cutoff" position, reducing gasoline to the engines, the AAIB said in a preliminary investigation.
About ten seconds after the switches were reconnected, the aircraft had already lost thrust, which caused the disaster.