"No stone should be left unturned,": Aviation safety firm's CEO on AI 171's crash report
The AI 171 crash of the Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 aircraft in Gujarat's Ahmedabad killed 260 people, including 229 passengers, 12 crew members, and 19 people on the ground.
Martin said that one should wait for the full report to come out, but questioned certain aspects of the preliminary report which suggested pilot error, saying that it is 'highly unlikely that any pilot, especially during take-off would want to meddle or fiddle around with switches behind the thrust levels.'
'This will be a complex crash to investigate for the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board), AAIB (Aircraft Accident Investigation Board), Boeing, EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency), the Indian DGCA (Director General of Civil Aviation), and the UKCAA and no stone should be left unturned with this investigation,' read a statement from the firm's CEO.
'It is imperative that this investigation also be taken into the global quorum with the including of ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization), CAA Canada and other Safety oversight regulators that manage and oversee the 787 aircraft operation in their jurisdiction,' the statement added.
The consulting firm's CEO also said that the report suggests pilot error, saying that 'It is highly unlikely that any pilot, especially during takeoff would want to meddle or fiddle around with switches behind the thrust levels. At best, you'd focus on raising the landing gear which is located in the front panel of the cockpit, or raise the flaps.'
The AAIB's Preliminary Report released on Friday said that both the engines of the aircraft were moved from 'run' to 'cutoff,' in quick succession, which resulted in the fuel supply to be cut off. The report says that in the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why he did the cutoff, which the other pilot denied ever doing so.
'The aircraft achieved the maximum recorded airspeed of 180 Knots IAS at about 08:08:42 UTC and immediately thereafter, the Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of 01 sec. The Engine N1 and N2 began to decrease from their take-off values as the fuel supply to the engines was cut off,' the preliminary report said.
'In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so,' the report added.
As per the Enhanced Airborne Flight Recorder (EAFR) accessed by the AAIB, the engine 1's fuel cut switch transitioned from 'cutoff' to 'run' at about 8:08:52 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). On 8:08:56 UTC the Engine 2's fuel switch also went from 'cutoff' to run'.
According to the report, just 13 seconds later, at 8:09:05 UTC, one of the pilot transmitted the Mayday call, which the Air Traffic Control Officer (ATCO) enquired about, but did not receive a reply. Shortly after, the aircraft was observed crashing outside the airport boundary and the emergency response was activated.
The Airline Pilots' Association of India on Saturday also called for a 'fair, fact-based inquiry,' into the incident and rejected the 'tone and direction of the investigation' which suggested a bias towards pilot error.
'The report was leaked to media without any responsible official signature or attribution. There is lack of transparency in investigation as investigations continue to be shrouded in secrecy, undermining credibility and public trust. Qualified, experienced personnel, especially line pilots, are still not being included in the investigation team,' the association said in a statement.
Notably, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol urged people not to draw conclusions based on the preliminary report. While speaking to mediapersons, the MoS said, 'The AAIB has brought out a preliminary report. This is not the final report. Until the final report comes out, we should not arrive at any conclusion. AAIB is an autonomous authority, and the ministry does not interfere in their work.' (ANI)
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