FPJ Exclusive: Air India Flight 171 Probe Under Scrutiny As Sole Survivor Was Interviewed After 8 Months

Chennai: When Air India Flight 171 crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025, killing 260 people, one man walked away alive. British citizen Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, from Leicester, became the only eyewitness to the final moments inside the aircraft. In media interviews after the crash, he described hearing a "loud boom" and seeing flickering "green and white lights" in the cabin before the aircraft went down.

Yet DGCA sources say, India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) did not formally interview the sole survivor until March 29, 2026 — more than eight months after the disaster.

In a letter dated May 22, 2026, the UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said it had received no request from Indian investigators to assist in obtaining testimony from Vishwash, despite his status as a British citizen and the only surviving occupant of the aircraft.

According to sources in DGCA, Vishwash remained in India for weeks after the crash. He provided DNA samples to assist in identifying his brother's remains, obtained travel documents from British authorities and spent time with family in Diu before eventually returning to the United Kingdom.

During that period, he was visited by senior government officials, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, according to multiple sources, no formal investigative interview was conducted. It was only on March 29, 2026 that Vishwash was interviewed by officials from the DGCA and AAIB in Ahmedabad. Sources familiar with the meeting said the interview lasted approximately ninety minutes and was recorded on video. After which Vishwash went to the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital to thank the doctors, who had treated him, before flying back to the UK.

Yet according to DGCA sources, that interview had still not been incorporated into the draft interim report being prepared by investigators for possible release on June 12.

The delay has drawn criticism from lawyers and pilot associations involved in the case. "In any major criminal investigation, the first priority is usually to secure testimony from witnesses while memories are fresh," said advocate P. Joseph, who represents the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) and the father of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal.

"In this case, 260 people died, and his testimony is crucial. Green and white flickering lights in the cabin are an indication the plane lost main engine power and switched to emergency power and batteries. Also the loud boom points to some electrical explosion in the aft," Capt CS Randhawa, president, FIP, told Free Press Journal. "His interview should have been part of the preliminary report," he added. Green and white lights essentially come on during an emergency to guide passengers to the exit doors. "Are they weighing in the criticality of his interview? You've one witness to the crash. And after he's given dozens of media interviews, finally a year later AAIB decides to get its act together?" asks Capt Sam Thomas, president, Indian Chapter of Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA).