Was pilot error to blame for Air India crash? Groups urge transparency amid bias concerns
A report by
India 's Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), released on Friday, found that fuel supply to the aircraft's engines was
abruptly cut off just after take-off on June 12, moments before the Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a college hostel in Ahmedabad, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground.
The findings, based on cockpit voice recordings, captured an exchange in which one pilot asked, 'Why did you cut off?' and the other replied, 'I didn't.'
On the Boeing 787 – the model involved in the crash – the fuel cut-off switches are located between the pilots' seats, just behind the throttle levers, and are designed with a locking mechanism to prevent accidental activation.
Despite this, the recorded exchange has sparked speculation over whether the fuel was shut off deliberately or by mistake, prompting strong objections from pilot associations.
Thick black smoke billowing from a residential area after Air India flight AI171 crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground. Photo: AFP
The Airline Pilots Association of India (ALPA) told local media on Sunday it was considering legal action to secure representation in the investigative process, alleging that the preliminary report demonstrated a bias towards pilot error.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
14 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Chinese cashier steals US$2.4 million from firm to fund cosmetic surgery, lavish lifestyle
A woman in China who earned a modest 8,000 yuan (US$1,100) a month embezzled nearly 17 million yuan (US$2.4 million) to pay for a lavish lifestyle and undergo a range of cosmetic surgeries. The image-changing sessions took place four times a year over a six-year period and cost 300,000 yuan (US$42,000) each time. She also cultivated a wealthy image on social media, spending about two million yuan (US$278,000) a year on luxury goods. These included diamond bracelets worth more than 100,000 yuan and limited-edition crocodile skin handbags. She also gambled in Macau casinos. Wang's high-rolling, luxurious lifestyle came to a halt when the tax authorities made an unannounced visit to her company. Photo: Weibo The 41-year-old, who used the pseudonym Wang Jing, worked as a cashier for a flower and gardening services company in Shanghai that was founded by a person surnamed Xu in 2018.
South China Morning Post
15 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
When 5 people were killed and 50 hurt by a runaway Hong Kong bus
'A driver was arrested yesterday after a bus ploughed into a huge crowd at North Point killing four people and injuring 46,' reported the South China Morning Post on July 23, 1979. 'The man, Ling Sum-ha (57), has been charged with dangerous driving causing death. He was released on $5,000 bail and is required to report to Traffic headquarters, Island, tomorrow. 'Driver held after bus horror', reported the South China Morning Post in July 1979. Photo: SCMP Archives 'The accident happened at North Point bus terminus shortly before 9am when it was packed with about 1,000 people – hundreds of whom were heading for a day's outing to the beaches. About half the people were in a U-shaped queue at the stop for Route 62 which runs to Chung Hom Kok via Repulse Bay. As they were waiting under the sun, a No 62 bus driven by Ling halted about 25 yards from the stop to unload passengers. 'The bus was then to have gone to the stop to pick up new passengers. But a No 8 double-decker was blocking the way. Police have taken possession of a note which was attached to the steering column by a previous driver. The note is believed to have referred to a 'noise' the gear box had been making. Mr Ling got into the No 8 and tried to drive it away. Suddenly, the vehicle jerked forward, flattening a traffic sign and ploughing into the queue of passengers. At least six people were dragged underneath the bus. About five others were hit and flung several yards by the impact. The China Motor Bus double-decker ploughed into a huge crowd in North Point, killing four and injuring 46, the Post reported. Those numbers later rose to five dead and 50 injured. Photo: SCMP Archives 'As hundreds of people fled in panic, the bus continued to surge ahead – dragging victims underneath it – until it hit the rear of another double-decker about 10 yards away. Fifty people were injured – four fatally – within seconds. Several people were hurt as the crowd tried to flee. The holiday atmosphere was transformed into one of tragedy as victims lay on the blood-spattered road. Two of the dead, a boy and a young woman, were crushed between the runaway bus and the one into which it crashed. The terminus was strewn with slippers, beach mats and swimming floats. The first ambulance arrived at 9.10am, about 20 minutes after the accident.' On July 26, the Post ran the headline ''Chaotic' death terminus to get a $400,000 facelift', reporting that the 'reconstruction will mean more space for bus parking. A Government spokesman said yesterday preliminary planning work had been completed and the project is to start in September. He said: 'Careful planning of the working arrangements is necessary to ensure that the bus terminus can remain operational during construction.' Five people were killed and 45 hurt when a CMB bus ploughed into a crowd at the terminus.' A friend comforts Fok Mei-po, who broke down and wept at a press conference as one of her sisters was killed and another was put in hospital following the North Point bus accident. Photo: SCMP Archives On January 24, 1980, the Post reported that 'a China Motor Bus Co driver was yesterday acquitted of five counts of dangerous driving, causing the death of five people and injury of 50 others, at North Point bus terminal on July 22. Judge Evans at Victoria District Court said it was not certain whether the tragedy was caused by the driver […] or by mechanical defects in the bus. The 'no-go vehicle' note attached to the bus did not suggest that the vehicle should not be driven at all, he added. The defence and the Crown had agreed that to the employees of the bus company the note only meant that the bus should not carry passengers. 'Judge Evans said he himself took the literal meaning of the note and would not drive a vehicle at all if such a note was attached to it. But, he added, it had special meaning to the company's employees.'
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- South China Morning Post
Myanmar's military leader makes rare appearance at event honouring Aung San Suu Kyi's father
The head of Myanmar's military government made a rare appearance at a ceremony on Saturday honouring General Aung San, an independence hero and father of jailed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi. It was the first time that 69-year-old Senior General Min Aung Hlaing attended the Martyrs' Day wreath-laying since the army ousted Suu Kyi and seized power in February 2021. The leader's appearance comes as his embattled government is preparing to hold elections while fighting armed opposition groups across the country. Martyrs' Day was an important event in Myanmar's calendar for decades, but the military has downplayed the holiday in recent years. It commemorates the assassination of Aung San, a former prime minister who was gunned down at the age of 32 along with six cabinet colleagues and two other officials in 1947, just months before the country – then called Burma – achieved freedom from British colonial rule. A political rival, former prime minister U Saw, was tried and hanged for plotting the attack. Myanmar's national flag flutters at half-mast outside the City Hall in Yangon on Saturday on the 78th Martyrs' Day. Photo: AFP Suu Kyi was absent from the ceremony for a fifth year Suu Kyi, who was detained when the army took over in 2021, was absent from the event for a fifth consecutive year. She is currently serving a 27-year prison term on what are widely regarded as contrived charges meant to keep her from political activity. She has not been seen in public since her arrest. Ye Aung Than, a son of Suu Kyi's estranged older brother, laid a wreath in front of his grandfather's tomb during the main ceremony at the Martyrs' Mausoleum near the foot of the towering Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. With Myanmar national flags flying at half-staff, members of the ruling military council, and cabinet, as well as high-ranking military generals, joined Min Aung Hlaing in placing a basket of flowers in front of the tombs of the nine martyrs. As the ceremony was held, people in Yangon paid tribute to independence leaders by blaring car horns and sirens at 10.37am, the time of the 1947 attack.
