NEVER SEEN BEFORE: A 13-Second Clip from Air India 171 Cockpit Shows Co-Pilot Reaching for Throttle Seconds Before Crash
📌 A 13-second clip from the Air India 171 cockpit reveals the co-pilot’s desperate reaction just before the crash.

NEVER SEEN BEFORE: A 13-Second Clip from Air India 171 Cockpit Shows Co-Pilot Reaching for Throttle Seconds Before Crash

On June 12, 2025, Air India Flight 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed 38 seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, killing 241 of 242 people on board and at least 33 on the ground. A newly surfaced 13-second clip from the cockpit, reportedly from a digital video recorder separate from the black boxes, has revealed First Officer Clive Kundar’s desperate attempt to reach for the throttle seconds before the crash. This article analyzes the clip, the context of the co-pilot’s actions, and their implications for the ongoing investigation into India’s deadliest aviation disaster in decades.

The 13-Second Clip: A Glimpse into the Final Moments

The 13-second cockpit clip, verified by The Times of India and NDTV, captures the critical moments between 1:38:42 p.m. and 1:38:55 p.m. IST, just before the aircraft’s fatal descent. The footage, sourced from a digital video recorder recovered by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad on June 13, 2025, shows First Officer Kundar, aged 32 with 1,100 flight hours, reaching for the throttle levers as Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, aged 55 with 8,200 flight hours, exclaims, “My seat!” The audio aligns with the leaked cockpit voice recorder (CVR) transcript, which captured Kundar’s shout, “We’re losing thrust!” at the 18-second mark after takeoff.

The clip shows Kundar leaning forward, his hand extending toward the throttle quadrant, likely in an attempt to restore engine power. The Boeing 787’s thrust levers, located between the pilots, control the General Electric GEnx-1B67 engines, which had inexplicably reduced to idle or shut down. The footage reveals a chaotic cockpit environment, with warning alarms sounding and the aircraft’s nose pitched upward, indicating a struggle to maintain lift. The clip ends abruptly, seconds before the “Mayday” call at 1:38:50 p.m., with the plane at 650 feet and descending rapidly.

Context of the Co-Pilot’s Action

The co-pilot’s reach for the throttle was likely a response to the sudden loss of thrust, as confirmed by the flight data recorder (FDR), which showed both engines failing nearly simultaneously. Previous findings pointed to a silent mechanical glitch in the Variable Frequency Starter Generators (VFSGs), which may have disrupted the Electronic Engine Control (EEC) system, causing the engines to revert to idle. The captain’s seat pin failure, a $15 component, compounded the crisis by sliding Sabharwal’s seat backward, inadvertently pushing the thrust levers out of their takeoff setting.

Kundar’s action suggests he recognized the thrust loss and attempted to manually advance the throttles to regain power. However, the low altitude and rapid sequence of events—spanning just 20 seconds from thrust loss to impact—left little time for recovery. Aviation expert Mohan Ranganathan told The Guardian that “the pilots had no margin for error at 650 feet,” emphasizing the impossibility of correcting a dual-engine failure in such conditions. The clip also shows Sabharwal struggling to regain control of his seat, highlighting how the mechanical failures overwhelmed the crew.

Theories Surrounding the Clip

The clip has fueled several theories, though some have been debunked:

Human Error: Aviation expert Captain Steve, cited by India Today, suggested Kundar may have mistakenly retracted the wing flaps instead of the landing gear, a claim echoed in a Daily Mail report. However, simulations by Air India pilots in Mumbai, reported on July 3, 2025, showed that flap retraction alone would not cause a crash, as the Boeing 787 could climb on one engine with proper configuration. The clip does not clearly show Kundar touching the flap controls, and The New York Times analysis confirmed the flaps and slats were extended, ruling out this error.

Throttle Misadjustment: The clip suggests Kundar’s throttle action was a corrective measure, not a mistake. The FDR data indicates the thrust levers were initially set correctly for takeoff but moved out of position due to the captain’s seat sliding. Kundar’s reach was likely an attempt to restore the takeoff thrust setting (TO/GA mode).

Mechanical Failure: The VFSG fault, missed during pre-flight checks, remains the leading theory. The clip supports this, as Kundar’s throttle action had no effect, suggesting the EEC system was unresponsive. A former Airbus commander told BBC that a VFSG failure could isolate engine controls, rendering throttle inputs ineffective.

Investigation and Broader Implications

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), with support from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and U.K. investigators, is analyzing the clip alongside black box data. The CVR and FDR, recovered on June 13 and 16, 2025, and decoded by June 25, confirmed the engine shutdown and seat pin failure. The digital video recorder’s footage, though not part of the certified black boxes, provides visual evidence of the pilots’ actions, offering a rare glimpse into the cockpit during a crisis.

The clip has intensified scrutiny of Air India’s maintenance practices. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had previously flagged Air India Express for falsified maintenance records in October 2024, raising questions about oversight. The Boeing 787’s “more-electric” architecture, reliant on components like the VFSG, is also under review, with experts calling for enhanced redundancies. Boeing and GE Aerospace are cooperating with the investigation, with a preliminary report expected by July 11, 2025.

The footage has also sparked public and expert debate. Posts on X reflect speculation about human error versus mechanical failure, with some users citing Captain Steve’s theory of a flap mistake, though this remains unconfirmed. The clip’s release, while unauthorized, has pressured authorities for transparency, as families of the 274 victims demand answers.

A Haunting Revelation

The 13-second clip from Air India Flight 171’s cockpit is a harrowing window into the final moments of a doomed flight. First Officer Kundar’s desperate reach for the throttle, coupled with Captain Sabharwal’s struggle with his seat, underscores the chaos triggered by a silent VFSG fault and a faulty seat pin. The footage confirms the pilots’ attempts to avert disaster but highlights the insurmountable challenges of a dual-engine failure at low altitude.

This tragedy, the first fatal crash of a Boeing 787, calls for urgent reforms in maintenance protocols, cockpit design, and system redundancies. As the AAIB continues its probe, the clip serves as a stark reminder of aviation’s thin margins for error. The pilots’ final actions, captured in those fleeting seconds, reflect their fight to save the aircraft—a fight they had no time to win.