Air India crash rekindles debate over cockpit cameras
Aviation experts have said a preliminary report from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) raised questions over whether one of the pilots of Air India flight 171 cut off fuel to the Boeing 787's engines seconds after takeoff, leading to an irrecoverable situation.
The crash in Ahmedabad, India, killed 241 of the 242 people aboard, as well as 19 people on the ground.
As of now, "based on what little we know now, it's quite possible that a video recording, in addition to the voice recording would significantly assist the investigators in conducting that investigation on the issue of mental health," Walsh said.
Advocates for cockpit video cameras say the footage could fill in gaps left by the audio and data recorders, while opponents say concerns about privacy and misuse outweigh what they argue are marginal benefits for investigations. Video footage was "invaluable" to Australian crash investigators determining what led to Robinson R66 helicopter breaking up in mid-air in 2023, killing the pilot, the only person aboard, according to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau's final report, which was released 18 days after the Air India crash.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
22 minutes ago
- India Today
Air India crash reporting is premature and speculative: NTSB chief Homendy
As speculation mounts over the cause of the fatal crash involving an Air India flight earlier this month, the head of the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has urged caution, warning that recent media reports are premature and lack proper investigative a statement posted on Friday, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy criticised early assumptions and reporting on the incident, which claimed that the aircraft's captain may have manipulated fuel flow switches before the media reports on the Air India 171 crash are premature and speculative,' Homendy wrote. India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau just released its preliminary report. Investigations of this magnitude take time.'Statement from NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy:'Recent media reports on the Air India 171 crash are premature and speculative. India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau just released its preliminary report. Investigations of this magnitude take time. We fully support the— NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) July 18, 2025 Homendy emphasised that the AAIB, which released its preliminary findings on Thursday, remains the lead investigative body in the case and deserves space to carry out a comprehensive enquiry.'We fully support the AAIB's public appeal, which was released Thursday, and will continue to support its ongoing investigation,' she added. 'All investigative questions should be addressed to the AAIB.'The NTSB chair's remarks come amid speculation across the media suggesting pilot error or technical mismanagement may have led to the crash. Homendy made clear that such conclusions are not only unfounded at this stage, but also undermine the integrity of a thorough REJECTS US MEDIA REPORTAAIB on Thursday criticised The Wall Street Journal for what it called 'unverified and selective reporting' regarding a pilot's alleged role in the Air India Flight 171 crash that killed 260 a statement, the AAIB said it was premature to conclude and added that the investigation into the plane crash is still underway. The bureau noted that its preliminary findings are meant only to outline what happened and urged restraint until the final report is WSJ, citing an assessment by US officials, reported that black box recordings suggest Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, turned off the fuel control switches just seconds after Air India Flight 171 crashed into a resident doctors' hostel in Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff.- EndsTune InMust Watch
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Air India Crash Reporting Is ‘Premature,' NTSB's Homendy Says
(Bloomberg) -- The head of the US National Transportation Safety Board said it's too soon to draw conclusions about what caused the deadly crash of an Air India jetliner following reports that the captain of the plane likely moved switches that control the flow of fuel to the engines. 'Investigations of this magnitude take time,' NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said Friday in a post to social media platform X. She called recent media reports 'premature and speculative,' without providing any specifics on what exactly she was referring to. Investigators, led by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau with the assistance of the NTSB, have been piecing together evidence to determine what caused Air India Flight 171 to crash on June 12, killing 260 people. AAIB and Air India Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson have also urged the public not to draw conclusions while the probe is ongoing. It can take a year — sometimes longer — for authorities to release a final report laying out the probable cause of an accident and recommendations for avoiding future tragedies. A preliminary report released by the AAIB found two fuel control switches on the Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliner were moved to a 'cutoff' position immediately after the aircraft lifted off, starving the engines of fuel. While the move was reversed about 10 seconds later, it was too late to avert the crash. A cockpit voice recording from the aircraft revealed that one pilot — since identified by Bloomberg and other outlets as First Officer Clive Kunder — asked the other, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, why he moved the switches, to which the latter replied he didn't. How and why the switches came to be turned off are the key lines of inquiry for investigators. Officials are probing whether it could be the result of human action — deliberate or inadvertent — or a failure of the plane's systems. Following the release of AAIB's preliminary report, India's civil aviation authority ordered an inspection of fuel switches on Boeing 737 and 787 aircraft operating in the country in an effort to ascertain whether the crash was caused by equipment failure. Investigators at this point haven't identified any mechanical or design issues with the Boeing plane or the engines, manufactured by GE Aerospace. --With assistance from Julie Johnsson. More stories like this are available on
Deccan Herald
3 hours ago
- Deccan Herald
Miscreants dupe medical seat aspirants with fake NRI sponsorship documents
Following the details provided by the student, the KEA has registered an FIR against a man named Raghu, a resident of Nelamangala. 'We got suspicious after seeing the document pertaining to the Australian government.
