Asia Tonight - Fri 11 Jul 2025
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CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Pilot error or technical fault? Air India crash report deepens mystery of fuel supply cut
SINGAPORE: Air India flight AI171 crashed in June because the plane's fuel control switches were moved to cut-off position, starving the engines of fuel, according to a preliminary report on the deadly disaster. The report explains why the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner went down moments after taking off from Ahmedabad airport. But it raises questions as to how the fuel supply to both engines could have been cut off, given the design of these controls. In a cockpit voice recording, one pilot is heard asking the other why he flipped the switches. The pilot responds that he did not do so. The plane was seen losing altitude. Seconds later, the fuel switches were flipped to turn the fuel supply back on. But it was too late to stop the plane's descent. It crashed into a medical college hostel, killing all but one of the 242 people on the plane. More than 30 people on the ground also died. The preliminary report, issued by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau on Saturday (Jul 12), showed that the crash was unlikely to have been caused by pilot error, said aviation experts. Fuel control switches are not like light switches, which can be turned off and on accidentally when you hit them, Mr Chow Kok Wah, a former airline executive in aircraft maintenance, told CNA. 'It's a metal switch with a knot sticking out. You have to pull the switch and lift it up over a metal obstacle, and then release it back in,' he explained. 'There's no way that you can accidentally knock it and then it goes in the opposite direction.' Mr Eshan Khalid, a former pilot and aviation expert, told Reuters 'deliberate action' was needed to move the fuel control switches. The pilot's exchange in the audio recording also showed that there were attempts to move the switch back to "run" mode. 'From the findings, it tells me that it wasn't pilot error,' said former pilot Marco Chan, a senior lecturer at Buckinghamshire New University's aviation school. 'And there's nothing, at least for now, for the time being, that points to a pilot error from the cockpit voice recorder. It appears they are trying to recover the flight from going down to the ground.' Timeline of events Here's a detailed timeline of what happened aboard AI171 moments before the crash: 7.55.15am GMT: The aircraft requested taxi clearance, which was granted by air traffic control. A minute later, the aircraft taxied from the bay to Runway 23 via Taxiway R4, backtracked and lined up for take-off. 8.02.03am: The aircraft was transferred from ground to tower control. 8.07.33am: Take-off clearance issued. 8.07.37am: The aircraft started rolling. 8.08.39am: Aircraft lifted off. "The aircraft air/ground sensors transitioned to air mode, consistent with liftoff," the report said. 8.08.42am: Aircraft reached max airspeed of 180 knots. "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 report said. "The Engine N1 and N2 began to decrease from their take-off values as the fuel supply to the engines was cut off. "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 CCTV footage obtained from the airport showed Ram Air Turbine (RAT) getting deployed during the initial climb immediately after lift-off "The aircraft started to lose altitude before crossing the airport perimeter wall." 8.08.47am: Both engines' values "passed below minimum idle speed", and the RAT hydraulic pump began supplying hydraulic power. 8.08.52am: Engine 1 fuel cutoff switch transitioned from CUTOFF to RUN. 8.08.56: Engine 2 fuel cutoff switch also transitions from CUTOFF to RUN. "When fuel control switches are moved from CUTOFF to RUN while the aircraft is in flight, each engine's full authority dual engine control (FADEC) automatically manages a relight and thrust recovery sequence of ignition and fuel introduction," the report stated. "Engine 1's core deceleration stopped, reversed and started to progress to recovery. Engine 2 was able to relight but could not arrest core speed deceleration and reintroduced fuel repeatedly to increase core speed acceleration and recovery." 8.09.05am: One of the pilots transmitted 'MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY". 8.09.11am: Data recording stopped. 8.14.44am: Crash fire tender left the airport premises for rescue and firefighting. 'TRICKY THING' Mr Chan told Reuters that the report pointed to a chip malfunction. He believes the cutoff came from an error with the chip, for which the engine manufacturer previously issued a service bulletin advising maintenance in order to prevent signal loss. "Once you have a loss of signal, the fuel isn't commanded, ... then there's no fuel going to the engine, which seems to have matched what the service bulletin was saying with this current investigation," said Mr Chan. However, Mr Kwok said a chip malfunction was 'very unlikely'. The fuel control switches are a very crucial function in the operation of a plane, and whoever designed them would have thought of all these possibilities, he added. '(They) would not have designed it in a way that a malfunction could cause the engine to shut down, because it's a very, very serious matter,' said Mr Kwok. 'And the fact that it happened to two engines almost simultaneously would put the probability at near zero.' He also noted that, according to the report, the engines had responded positively after the pilots noticed the switches' position and changed them back. 'If it were a malfunction, would it come on again? Both of them?' he asked. 'It's very, very, very unlikely.' Asked what else could have caused the switches to move, Mr Kwok said it was a 'tricky thing'. 'All we can say is somebody operated the switch. It will not move on its own.' Warning against speculation that the pilots could be responsible, Mr Khalid raised the possibility that some clarification might be needed from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau as an explanation. It is not clear from the short exchange between the pilots if they were referring to the switch position or the engine states. Their exact words were not stated in the report, which summarises the events. 'Maybe it (the bureau) will clarify in due course of time that it was not the fuel cutoff switch, but the fuel shutoff valve that probably switched off while the fuel cutoff switch continued to remain in its position," Mr Khalid suggested to Reuters. REPORT GIVES BASIC INFORMATION The preliminary report found no mechanical or maintenance faults on the Air India Boeing Dreamliner, and that all required maintenance had been carried out. Asked if there should be more checks on fuel control switches given the lack of answers on how the controls moved, Mr Kwok pointed out that the authorities and manufacturers had not yet issued any guidance. There has been no factual evidence to support the conclusion that immediate action was needed to be taken on similar planes, he added. Mr Kwok also noted that in aviation investigations, the preliminary report only serves to provide the public with some basic facts to prevent unnecessary speculation. Now that the report has been released, a more thorough investigation will take place before a final report, he said. The authorities and manufacturers will likely look at the plane's engine start system once more. 'A month is a bit hard for them to do all that stuff,' Mr Kwok said. Should they find nothing, the investigators will then look at other possibilities, such as the background and behaviour of those in the cockpit, he added. "Now the focus is entirely on the start switch. And if the start switches are working properly, then it must be (that) somebody moved it,' he said. 'Who, is the question.'
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
More caregivers seeking help in Singapore amid rising stress, low quality of life
SINGAPORE: More caregivers are turning to social service agencies for help, with some organisations seeing a three-fold increase in sign-ups for support group programmes and financial aid. Since last year, for example, the Caregiving Welfare Association (CWA) has seen the number of clients under its home care programme – which aims to help seniors age in place and reduce caregiver burden – rise from 60 to about 200. Still, support groups say more can be done to help caregivers. This is especially as they have a lower quality of life compared to non-caregivers in all fields, according to the Ministry of Social and Family Development's latest family trends report released last week. Significantly, the largest gap between caregivers and non-caregivers – 60.3 per cent versus 64.6 per cent – was in the environment domain, which involves issues such as 'access to social services' and finances'. Caregivers scored lower in the social relationships and physical domains as well. The report also showed a 6-percentage point difference in caregivers' satisfaction with family support, with just half scoring satisfactory. MANY STILL HOLDING BACK CWA said while there are more caregiver grants and financial assistance available, many caregivers are holding back. 'Many caregivers we find are still unaware of the help available, or sometimes they may even hesitate to ask for help due to stigma or a sense of duty. So in a cultural sense, it usually falls under filial piety, so they don't really see themselves or identify themselves as caregivers,' said the charity's marketing and donor management executive Sharlene Ferry. 'So definitely, in this area, awareness and also public education is very important.' She added that many also fail to identify themselves as caregivers, as they merely think they are looking after their loved ones without realising they are performing complex caregiving work. One of the biggest challenges faced by those caring for seniors is burnout, Ms Ferry pointed out, with many belonging to the sandwiched generation. They also feel isolated as they are forced to put their social lives on the backburner, she added. For example, a client of CWA was a 78-year-old retiree caring for his wife. 'His days were often actually very quiet, so he fell into isolation … and he had a lingering sense of uncertainty, because as a senior, he did not have the same energy that he once had, and he was unable to care properly for his spouse,' said Ms Ferry. The client ended up joining a support group at CWA to improve his emotional wellbeing. 'Support groups are a safe and supportive space where they can actually come together to actually share their experiences and also engage in different types of sessions, such as art therapy or mindfulness-based sessions,' Ms Ferry noted. MORE RESPITE CARE, EMERGENCY PLANNING Meanwhile, TOUCH Community Services told CNA it believes more respite care and emergency planning can improve caregivers' quality of life by offering them more rest opportunities and less anxiety. The charity also operates a care hotline and has seen a 20 per cent jump in caregivers calling in for help. 'We've got a lot more corporates coming to us requesting caregiver talks. As corporates, they have their own pool of employees, and they do realise that employees are also facing certain caregiving issues,' said Ms June Sim, group head of TOUCH Caregivers Support. Apart from spending time caring with their loved ones, caregivers have to foot medical bills and other expenses. Some have to quit their jobs or switch to part-time work to be there, Ms Sim added. She said that while government and organisational support is essential, help from the community is also important, with a simple message or meet-up going a long way in reducing caregivers' stress and loneliness. Despite the challenges, the social service agencies said caregiving can be meaningful. Ms Ferry said she has heard from caregivers in CWA's programmes that they have grown closer to their loved ones and 'discovered certain strengths that they didn't know they had'. 'I definitely believe that with the right tools and the right support, these caregivers can actually find moments of connection or even joy through this caregiving journey,' she added.
Independent Singapore
5 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
'I am trading my youth for a paycheck I don't even enjoy'
SINGAPORE: One Reddit user recently posted an eloquently relatable revelation that hit a nerve with thousands: 'I don't even know what happened to the last two years. I wake up, log into work, stare at a screen for 8+ hours, scroll my phone to feel alive, and repeat. My dreams, hobbies, relationships, even my personality, everything's just been paused while I 'build my career.' Anyone else feel like your youth is slipping away while you're busy trying to survive?' That noiseless throbbing of doing the bare minimum while time zooms past unnoticed is something many young adults are so familiar with. The digital age assured connection and convenience, but for many, it's offered a bizarre combination of coldness and detachment instead. The post ushered in dozens of responses, depicting an image of a generation silently wrestling with burnout, inertia, and a craving to feel truthfully alive again. A path through the fog Not all the responses were reverberations of desolation and hopelessness. One middle-aged commenter provided an optimistic, reflective viewpoint: 'I spent my 20s doing the same as you but not being properly paid. Now, everything in my life is at an all-time high—mental health, friendships, fitness, even hobbies. You're on a path that can lead to even greater success. Just hang in there. A bit more short-term pain for long-term gain. Keep going.' It was a comforting reminder — the toil in your twenties isn't always for naught. That doesn't mean the present has to be miserable. Reframing the clock Another commenter broke it down in basic terms and statistically: 'There are 168 hours in a week. 56 go to work. 56 to sleep. That leaves 56 hours to live. Don't let work suck the life out of life.' It's a compelling reminder that although work is most of the time engulfing, it's not everything in our existence. Transforming our mindset—seeing work as a way to finance the life we want outside of it—can be a game changer. See also The "always-on" culture: Is Singapore's work-life balance a myth? The phone trap Several users cited the common contemporary trap — the black hole of scrolling. 'You're wasting your life on your phone, not at work,' one user said curtly. 'Use your job to build your future, but spend your time living. Pursue hobbies. Fall in love. Build something that matters.' This disposition resounded again and again from the commenters — people usually see work as the culprit and blame everything on it, but the actual bandits of people's time and happiness are the devices they retreat to when they feel dazed. Time for a hard reset One user offered a sweeping yet significant decision: 'Same experience here. But I took a break—6 to 12 months off—to work on personal projects I'd sidelined. Maybe I'll go back to overemployment, maybe not. I just couldn't keep going like that. Social media may have been the final straw… or the wake-up call I needed.' It's an audacious move, but one that reflects the worry many feel — the need to take a hiatus, 'retune', and remember who they were before the fatigue and lethargy became entrenched. You can reclaim your time This viral thread has become a looking glass for a generation crisscrossing the burdens of productivity culture, economic concern, and digital devastation. But within it, there is also the demand to regain agency. Life is not just about surviving. It's about creating that part of yourself that feels active and thriving. Even if you have to excavate a little more to find them, your visions and ideas are still there, waiting.
