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Investigations into the Air India plane crash are examining the medical records of the pilots, after it was alleged that one of them suffered from depression and mental health problems.
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, an experienced pilot with more than 8,200 hours in the cockpit, was piloting the Boeing 787 Dreamliner when it crashed in a residential area called Meghani Nagar, killing 241 people on board and taking the lives of 19 others on the ground.
A few seconds after takeoff on June 12, two fuel switches in the cockpit of Air India Flight 171 went off shortly after takeoff, resulting in a catastrophic loss of power and the plane crashing to the ground.
The 'lock function' of the switches meant that pilots had to lift them before changing their position, they are not simple buttons that can be accidentally turned off.
Now, investigations into the tragic crash have begun to analyze the pilot's behavior.
Captain Mohan Ranganathan, a leading aviation safety expert in India, has revealed that "several" Air India pilots had allegedly confirmed that the experienced pilot was suffering from mental health problems.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, he claimed: "He had taken a break from flying for the last three or four years. He had taken medical leave for that."
In Powai, Mumbai, one of Captain Sabharwal's former colleagues described him as a 'punctual gentleman', adding that he believed 'he was actually thinking of taking early retirement in the next two years', with plans to take care of his elderly father, 90.
In his short career, co-pilot Clive Kunder, 28, had logged more than 3,400 flight hours.
The Telegraph said that while Air India declined to comment, an official working with their parent company, the Tata Group, told the publication that Captain Sabharwal had not taken any medical leave, with the preliminary report failing to make any significant findings.
They added that within the last two years, both pilots on board the flight had passed the Class I medical exam, which assesses their psycho-physical abilities.
On Sunday, a preliminary report released by Indian authorities raised questions about why the pilot would have manually turned off the keys - and whether it was a deliberate act or a catastrophic error.
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