On the morning of June 12, 2025, a Boeing 787-8 operated by Air India—registered VT-ANB—crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, killing all 241 onboard and 19 on the ground. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) of India released its Preliminary Report within a month, meticulously laying out the technical sequence that led to the crash. It was a chillingly precise timeline of mechanical actions, fuel control switch positions, hydraulic system transitions, and flight data readouts.
Yet, for all its forensic brilliance, the report leaves unsaid a far more disquieting truth: the crash of VT-ANB may not have begun in the cockpit—it may have begun in boardrooms, policies, and a slow-burning crisis of human disenchantment following the controversial mega-merger of India’s airline ecosystem under the Tata Group.
1. The Technical Trigger: A Timeline of Terror
The preliminary report confirms the aircraft lifted off normally at 08:08:39 UTC, with all speeds (V1, Vr, V2) properly achieved. Then, almost inexplicably, both engine fuel cutoff switches were moved from RUN to CUTOFF—shutting off power to both engines just seconds after takeoff.
Pilot 1: “Why did you cutoff?”
Pilot 2: “I didn’t.”
These were among the final words captured on the Cockpit Voice Recorder.
Within seconds, the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) deployed, and both pilots tried to restart the engines mid-air—fuel switches were moved back to RUN, the APU auto-started, and Engine 1 showed signs of recovery. But it was too late. At 08:09:05, a mayday was transmitted. By 08:09:11, the aircraft slammed into a cluster of residential buildings near the BJ Medical College hostel, leaving nothing but charred debris and anguished questions.
2. The Elephant in the Cockpit: Apathy, Not Error
While aviation investigators zero in on the mysterious cutoff of fuel control switches—suspecting mechanical anomaly, inadvertent movement, or faulty locking mechanisms—the broader industry must confront an uncomfortable hypothesis:
What if this was not purely a mechanical or procedural failure? What if this was the tip of a psychological iceberg—an accident born from simmering human disillusionment?
Pilots of Air India have long sounded alarms about morale collapse, systemic distrust, and post-merger turbulence. The blending of Air India, Vistara, AirAsia India, and Air India Express under a single corporate umbrella created unprecedented redundancy, unequal pay harmonisation, unfair command upgrade delays, and opaque HR processes.
Crew scheduling, seniority parity, and fleet transitions became politicised mazes. Pilot associations raised red flags, particularly from Vistara and Air India Express, that safety could be compromised if fatigue, disenchantment, and unacknowledged cockpit tensions continued unchecked.
3. The Inconvenient Context: Post-Merger Fallout
a. Psychological Climate
The Captain and First Officer of VT-ANB were from different airline legacies—one from legacy Air India, the other reportedly inducted post-Tata merger. Their interface may have seemed routine, but beneath the layers of CRM (Crew Resource Management) training lay distrust, resentment, and possibly even communication fatigue.
b. Performance Suppression
Flight crew promotions and assessments had become bottlenecked under the new HR regime. Reports of stagnation, command denials, and differential treatment among merged carriers were widespread. This led many high-time commanders to either opt for VRS or mentally check out—flying the line, but not truly flying with care.
c. Cabin Crew Integration
While the final moments were dictated by cockpit switches, a closer inspection of company operations reveals a fragmented SOP culture—merging four airlines brought four sets of practices, four training modules, and four ideas of operational discipline. In such a scenario, even checklists and technical reactions become vulnerable to latent procedural conflicts.
4. Human Factors: The Least Examined Black Box
AAIB’s report notes that an aviation psychologist has been engaged for further investigation. This is encouraging, but historically, Indian accident reports have focused more on switches than on psyches.
History is replete with examples of people and groups suffering from post merger trauma, with the best and brilliant leaving the disadvantaged partner. The practical example in indian aviation being the erstwhile Sahara Takeover by Jet Airways turning it into Jetlite for name sake but leaving the merger to unprofessional hands
The fact that one pilot asked “why did you cutoff” and the other replied “I didn’t” should set off alarms about startle effect, mental disorientation, or possibly even emotional dissociation in flight.
In psychological terms, the “amygdala hijack”—a sudden emotional response disabling rational thought—can easily lead to unintentional actions, especially in high-stress environments. Were these men victims of such a hijack triggered by burnout or latent stress?
5. What Needs to Change: Beyond Checklists
If we are to honour the lives lost on VT-ANB, we must advocate for more than mechanical corrections. Here’s what urgently needs overhaul:
i. Psychological Audits Post-Merger
Annual mental health screening of cockpit crew, especially after structural changes like mergers or acquisitions.
ii. Unified SOPs Across All Aircraft and Airlines
Merged carriers must not operate with fragmented legacy practices. SOPs must be standardised across all merged entities.
iii. Transparent and Equitable Command Progressions
Pilot morale depends on predictable career pathways. Skewed HR matrices can silently breed discontent.
iv. Crew Pairing Based on Compatibility History
Data-driven pairing that considers past compatibility (flight history, CRM reports) may help reduce cockpit tension.
v. Enhanced Simulator Drills for Disorientation Scenarios
Simulators should test for unusual emotional and psychological reactions—not just mechanical failure procedures.
vi. On the Technical Front
An thorough audit of the management and the cartelisation of regional groups taking precedence over pure technical matters.
6. Conclusion: VT-ANB as a Metaphor for the Breaking Point
The crash of VT-ANB is being dissected through its switches and sensors, but the real cause may lie in the fractured spirit of its operators—the humans inside. This was an aircraft flying through the turbulence not only of atmosphere, but also of bureaucracy, betrayal, and burnout.
In an age where mergers are celebrated for scale, we must now learn that bigger is not always better—especially when it silences the very voices responsible for keeping metal in the sky.
If we ignore this softer truth, then the wreckage of VT-ANB won’t just remain a debris field in Ahmedabad—it will become a warning etched in silence, waiting to repeat itself.
