Air India crash report: Probe tracks engine switch movement; no immediate action for Boeing or GE
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India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has said there is no immediate need for action by Boeing or GE following last month's Air India crash in Ahmedabad that killed 260 people, the worst aviation disaster globally in over a decade.'At this stage of investigation, there are no recommended actions to Boeing 787-8 and/or GE GEnx-1B engine operators and manufacturers,' the AAIB said in its preliminary report released Saturday.The initial findings noted that the aircraft's engine fuel cutoff switches moved from 'cutoff' to 'run' within seconds of each other just before the crash. The bureau has not linked this sequence directly to the cause of the crash.The AAIB, under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, is leading the investigation. It is working with aircraft and engine makers to examine technical, operational, and human elements behind the fatal event. A final report will be issued after further analysis of flight data and cockpit voice recordings.In a tragic first for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner program, an Air India flight operating from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick crashed shortly after take-off on June 12, killing 260 people. The aircraft, a Boeing 787-8, struck a medical hostel complex near the airport. Among the 241 people onboard, only one passenger survived. Nineteen others on the ground were also killed.The fatal incident marks the first-ever hull loss — a technical term for the total destruction of an aircraft — involving the Boeing 787, which is one of the world's best-selling wide-body jets.
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