A union of Indian pilots has defended the crew of Air India Flight 171, crashed in June, killing 260 people.

The Indian Commercial Pilot Association (ICPA) stated that the crew “worked in accordance with its training and responsibilities under challenging circumstances and the pilots should not be decomposed on the basis of estimates”.

He said, “Pilot is a gross violation of moral reporting to suggest suicide without verified evidence and is an dissatisfaction for the dignity of the profession.”

A preliminary report did not blame the pilots. It said that after the take-off, the fuel-control switch of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner went into the “cut-off” position keeping both fuel engines.

The report released on Saturday gave a description of cockpit voice recording with a pilot, asked the other why he did “cut-off”, for which he gives another answer that he did not. The recording does not clarify who said what. Data shows that the switch was then taken to “run” position, but the aircraft crashed within seconds.

Aviation experts and pilots say fuel switches are designed to prevent contingency activation and should be drawn to unlock before flipping. The protective guard brackets carried them forward with casual bumps.

The initial report does not throw any light on how the switch was taken into a cut-off, but since its release, media and social media segments have been awakened with speculation about the role of pilots.

The Indian Commercial Pilot Association (ICPA) said in a statement late on Saturday night, “We are deeply upset with the speculative stories emerging in media and public discourse sections – especially the careless and unfounded urge to the pilot suicide,” the Indian Commercial Pilot Association (ICPA) said in a statement on Saturday night.

“Let us unevenly clear: at this stage there is absolutely no basis for such a claim, and inviting such a serious accusation based on incomplete or initial information is not only irresponsible – it is deeply insensitive to individuals and families involved.”

The statement said that until the official investigation was over and the final report was published, “Any speculation – especially of such a serious nature – is unacceptable and condemned”.

The preliminary inquiry was led by the Government of India to Boeing, General Electric, Air India, Indian registers and experts from the US and the UK. A final report is going to come out in a year.

On Saturday, another group of pilots – Airline Pilot Association of India (Alpa India) – expressed concern over how to handle the investigation.

It was highlighted that the report also mentioned that in December 2018, the US Federal Aviation Administration released a special airwelling information bulletin (SAIB) stating that some boing 737 fuel control switch was installed with switch locking features.

While the issue was noted, it was not understood an unprotected situation that required an airworthiness directive (AD) – a product legally applied to correct the unprotected position in a product.

The same switch design is used in Boeing 787-8 aircraft, including Air India’s VT-NB which crashed. As Saib Advisor was, Air India did not conduct a recommended inspection.

Focusing on the bulletin, Alpa India said, “It demands clarity whether the recommendations mentioned in the bulletin were implemented before the flight”. (Air India has not commented on specific issues.)

The association of the pilots stated that it was “surprised at the confidentiality around these investigations” and alleged that “appropriately qualified personnel were not taken on the board for investigation”.

India’s president captain Sam Thomas said in a statement, “We feel that the investigation is being operated in one direction keeping in mind the crime of the pilots and we strongly object to this line of this idea.”

The Sangh also urged the officials to “allow the supervisors to be involved in this process so that the expected transparency in the investigation can be provided”.

After the release of the report on Saturday, Indian Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu told reporters to “Jump on any conclusion at this level. Let us wait for the final report”.

Describing the pilots and crew as “the backbone of this civil aviation” in India, he said that “the most amazing task for the pilots in India and the crew in the whole world” was the most amazing task force “.

Flight 171 flew on 12 June with 242 people from the western Indian city of Ahmedabad for Gatwick in London with 242 people. 241 hit the ship in the accident – a passenger miraculously survived – and 19 people on the ground.

The report said that the pilots located in Mumbai had come to Ahmedabad the previous day and were sufficient to live. They had said that they had done breathing tests and were cleaned to fly.