The crew of the Air India flight that crashed last month in Ahmedabad acted in line with their responsibilities under challenging conditions and should not be vilified based on speculations, the Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association said on Sunday, PTI reported.

The association, which represents narrow-body pilots at Air India, criticised the “reckless and unfounded insinuation of pilot suicide” that has surfaced in media and public discourse after a preliminary investigation report on the crash was released on Saturday, The Times of India reported.

In a statement, the pilots’ body said: “Any speculation is unacceptable and must be condemned until the official investigation is concluded and the final report published.”

The plane crash on June 12 killed at least 260 persons, and was said to be the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade.

In its preliminary report released on Saturday, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau found that moments after the aircraft took off, its fuel control switches transitioned from “RUN” to “CUTOFF” within a second of each other, because of which both engines shut down.

The report said that one of the pilots could be heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he shut down the fuel, in response to which the other pilot said that he did not.

After a gap of about 10 seconds, the switches went back to the “RUN” position, in what appeared to be an attempt by the pilots to regain thrust in the engines. Subsequently, one of the engines progressed to recovery, and deceleration stopped. But deceleration could not be stopped on the second engine.

The report said that the flight lasted for about 30 seconds from the lift-off to the crash.

On Sunday, the Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association said that it was “deeply disturbed by speculative narratives” suggesting “pilot suicide”, adding that there was no basis for such claims at this stage, PTI reported.

“Invoking such a serious allegation based on incomplete or preliminary information is not only irresponsible…it is deeply insensitive to the individuals and families involved,” it said.

The association added that pilots undergo extensive psychological and professional screening, recurrent training and operate under the highest standards of safety, responsibility and mental fitness.

It also said that it trusted and respected the “rigorous investigation protocols” of the probe authorities, adding that these inquiries were designed to uncover facts methodically and without bias, PTI reported.

Meanwhile, the Airline Pilots’ Association of India on Saturday said it was concerned about the “tone and direction” of the probe, which it claimed showed a bias towards pilot error.

It also flagged the release of the preliminary report “without any responsible official signature or attribution”.

The investigation continued to be “shrouded in secrecy, undermining credibility and public trust”, the association said in a statement, alleging that “qualified, experienced personnel” were not being included in the probe team.

On June 12, Air India’s Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, which was en route to London’s Gatwick airport from Ahmedabad, crashed just 33 seconds after taking off.

There were 242 people aboard the aircraft. One passenger survived with “impact injuries”.

Thirty-four persons were also killed on the ground after the plane crashed into the hostel building of the BJ Medical College and Hospital in Ahmedabad, according to Air India.

Also read: Air India crash: What is the Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s safety record? An expert explains