The head of the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Jennifer Homendy, has termed recent media reports surrounding the probable causes of the crash of Air India Flight AI 171 in Ahmedabad, as “premature and speculative”. The NTSB chief supported the recent public appeal issued by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) against speculation around the ongoing air crash investigation. Homendy’s comments come close on the heels of reports by a few US-based publications suggesting that deliberate action by one of the pilots was most likely the cause of the crash in which 260 people died — 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground.
“It is essential to respect the sensitivity of the loss faced by family members of deceased passengers, crew of the aircraft and other deceased persons on ground. It has come to our attention that certain sections of the international media are repeatedly attempting to draw conclusions through selective and unverified reporting. Such actions are irresponsible, especially while the investigation remains ongoing. We urge both the public and the media to refrain from spreading premature narratives that risk undermining the integrity of the investigative process,” Yugandhar said.
The AAIB’s preliminary investigation report, released a month after the accident, said that the Air India Boeing 787-8 aircraft crashed after both its engines were starved of fuel as the two fuel control switches transitioned from ‘RUN’ to ‘CUTOFF’ position within a second of each other moments after lift-off. From the cockpit voice recorder data, the preliminary probe report notes that one of the pilots asked the other why he cut off the fuel, to which the other pilot responded saying he did not.
To be sure, the report doesn’t mention that the fuel control switches — which allow and cut fuel flow to the plane’s engines — moved physically, and uses the term “transitioned” to describe the change of mode from RUN to CUTOFF. It also does not state these were moved by either of the pilots. However, the selective information presented in the report had many believing that it implicitly pointed a finger at one of the pilots. “The purpose of the AAIB’s investigation and preliminary report is to provide information about ‘WHAT’ happened. The preliminary report has to be seen in this light. At this stage, it is too early to reach to any definite conclusions. The investigation…is still not complete. The Final Investigation Report will come out with root causes and recommendations,” he added.
A pilots’ body has expressed concern over the preliminary findings on the Air India crash, saying it assigns blame to the pilots. The protest coincided with a fresh US media report that cited cockpit recordings to claim that the captain cut the fuel flow to the engines. The Wall Street Journal, citing assessment by US officials, said the black box recording indicated that the captain turned off the fuel control switches.
The flight, AI 171, was being commanded by 56-year-old Sumeet Sabharwal, who had a total flying experience of 15,638 hours, and First Officer Clive Kunder, 32, who had 3,403 hours of total experience. Seconds after takeoff, the first officer asked the captain why he moved the switches from “run” to the “cutoff” position, the report said. After noticing it, the first officer panicked, while the captain seemed to remain calm, the WSJ report said.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which was on its way to London, crashed into the BJ Medical College hostel building in Ahmedabad within seconds of take-off. The tragedy left 260 people, including 241 passengers and crew on board and 19 others on the ground, dead.
The initial probe report, released by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), revealed that the fuel control switches of the Boeing 787 flipped from a “run” to a “cutoff” position within a second of each other after lift-off. The fuel control switches regulate fuel flow into a plane’s engines. The AAIB report, however, does not mention if the switches were moved by either of the pilots to the “cutoff” position. The report does mention one pilot asking the other why he cut off the fuel supply, with the other responding he did not. However, the full transcript of the conversation was never released, prompting several theories on social media. Experts have said that accidental movement of the switches is not quite possible. On Wednesday, Air India said inspections of the locking mechanism of fuel control switches across its fleet of Boeing 787 aircraft found no issues.
Meanwhile, an Indian Express report said investigators are probing if glitches in the electrical and software components of the doomed aircraft led to the transition of the fuel control switches to the “cut-off mode” without the command of the pilots. The government has said the report was a preliminary assessment and urged the public and the media to refrain from jumping to conclusions until the final findings are released, which may take a year.
The Wall Street Journal, citing cockpit recordings, claims that the captain of the crashed Air India jet cut the fuel flow to the engines.
