US investigators nearly withdrew from Air India crash probe over transparency issues

"At one point, the NTSB threatened to withdraw American resources from the investigation," reported The Wall Street Journal. "In the end, American investigators remained in the country to assist."

Families of victims onboard Air India Flight 171 have criticized delays in inquiry progress and demanded access to cockpit voice recordings. Relatives of Akeel Nanabawa, Hannaa Vorajee, and their daughter Sara Nanabawa stated they seek "honesty, transparency, and an unwavering commitment to uncovering the full truth."

Following retrieval of black box data, speculation around pilot suicide has emerged due to fuel switches being moved moments after takeoff. Pilot unions in India criticized such speculation as premature and irresponsible without complete evidence.

The Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA-I) rejected presumptions about pilot intent and called for a fact-centered inquiry. The Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association (ICPA) stated there is no basis for serious allegations at this stage.

Cockpit voice recorder data revealed pilots Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder discussed why switches were turned off during flight.