New Details of the Air India Crash As the US Media Views the Final Pilot Talk
New Delhi: According to a US media report, the captain of the Air India flight that crashed last month in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, shut off the gasoline to the plane’s engine during the final exchange between the two pilots, as captured on a cockpit tape.
Shortly after the Boeing 787 Dreamliner lifted off from the runway, the first officer on board reportedly asked the more seasoned captain why he had switched the switches to the “cutoff” position, according to a Wall Street Journal story. According to the report, the Captain stayed composed while the first officer then showed signs of panic.
First Officer Clive Kunder and Captain Sumeet Sabharwal were the two pilots involved; their combined flying experience was 3,403 and 15,638 hours. They were among the 19 persons on the ground and the 241 passengers on board who perished in the tragedy. The crash only claimed the life of one passenger.
A preliminary assessment from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AIIB), which is cited by the Wall Street Journal, also indicates that shortly after liftoff, the fuel cutoff controls for both engines were switched to the cutoff position, one after the other, within a 1-second interval, at an altitude. It stated that there were only 32 seconds between takeoff and the crash.
According to the Wall Street Journal, which cites US pilots, safety specialists following the investigation, and others familiar with the situation, the early report’s details indicate that the captain was the one who turned off the switches. “The report didn’t say whether turning off the switches might have been accidental or deliberate,” according to a US newspaper.
‘Don’t jump to conclusions.’
Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, the minister of civil aviation, stated last week that “one should not jump to conclusions” before the final report is out because it is based solely on preliminary findings.
“We shouldn’t make any hasty judgments on this, in my opinion. We have the most amazing crew and pilots in the world, in my opinion. Since they constitute the foundation of civil aviation, I must commend the nation’s pilots and crew for their tireless efforts. They are civil aviation’s main resource. We are also concerned about the pilots’ health and welfare. Therefore, let’s wait for the full study before drawing any judgments,” he remarked.
“There are technicalities involved,” Mr. Naidu continued. Commenting on the report will be premature. Although the preliminary has been received, we must wait for more specific information.
Indian pilots’ body condemns US media report
CS Randhawa, the president of the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), denounced the Wall Street Journal’s “baseless” allegation on Thursday and promised to take action against it. Mr. Randhawa emphasized that the pilots shutting off the switches that regulate the flow of fuel to the engines is not mentioned in the AIIB’s preliminary report, and he advised people not to make any assumptions before the full report is released.
“The report makes no mention of the pilot’s error that caused the fuel control switch to be switched off. I disapprove of the article. The pilot made a mistake, they stated.
They did not read the report carefully, and we will use FIP to discipline them. Yesterday, we released a press statement saying that no president of any agency, station, or commentator should express such an unfounded opinion. People are expressing their own opinions without any foundation till the detailed investigation is completed, which is wrong,” he told the news agency ANI.
Air India checks fuel control switches
After conducting preventative checks on the Fuel Control Switch (FCS) locking mechanism on all of its Boeing 787-8 aircraft, Air India reported that no problems were discovered. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered the inspections to be carried out.
“Our engineering team started doing preventative checks on the Fuel Control Switch (FCS) locking mechanism on all of our Boeing 787 aircraft over the weekend. The airline notified its flight crew that the inspections were finished and that no problems were discovered.
Additionally, the airline verified that, by Boeing’s recommended maintenance schedule, all of its Boeing 787-8 aircraft have had their Throttle Control Modules (TCMs) replaced. An integral component of the TCM is the Fuel Control Switch.