US-India Rift Emerges Over Air India Crash Black-Box Probe

A Wall Street Journal report has revealed sharp tensions between Indian and US investigators over the handling of the Air India Flight 171 crash probe. The friction began when Indian authorities proposed flying US black-box specialists to a remote military facility in Korwa for analysis — a plan immediately blocked by US officials due to security concerns. The disagreement highlighted early coordination issues between India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), along with Boeing, the FAA, and GE Aerospace, all of whom are assisting under international guidelines.

According to the report, both sides clashed over access to the crash site, the movement of wreckage, and the sequencing of investigative steps. Tensions peaked when AAIB insisted on transferring the flight-data and cockpit voice recorders out of Delhi, prompting NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy to warn her team not to board the flight and threaten withdrawal unless the analysis was conducted in Delhi or Washington. India ultimately agreed to use its new Delhi lab with US-supplied equipment, allowing the probe to move ahead.

Black-box data later revealed that the aircraft’s fuel-cutoff switches had been deliberately moved seconds after takeoff, leading to a catastrophic loss of thrust. While US officials believe the evidence points toward intentional cockpit action, Indian pilot groups and the family of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal strongly dispute this narrative and have called for a court-monitored investigation. The debate continues to intensify as global scrutiny grows over the causes of one of India’s deadliest aviation disasters.

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