Air India plane crash: Junior pilot asked captain why he turned off fuel switches
Article content
The information, from people who asked not to be identified because they're not authorized to speak publicly, reveals for the first time who said what in the flight deck. The exchange was first mentioned in last week's preliminary report from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau probing the June 12 crash in the western city of Ahmedabad, but without identifying the speakers.
Article content
Article content
Article content
The report had shown two fuel switches in the cockpit were moved to a cut-off position, causing the Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliner to lose lift and crash 32 seconds after takeoff. The other pilot had denied turning off the switches, according to the AAIB, which had extracted data from the cockpit voice recorder.
Article content
Article content
Aviation experts had speculated that it was first officer Clive Kunder who had posed the question to captain Sumeet Sabharwal given Kunder was the pilot flying and would have had his hands full — one on the yoke commanding the widebody into the skies, and the other on the throttle controlling the aircraft's speed. The Wall Street Journal previously reported who said what in the exchange.
Article content
The initial investigation showed that the fuel-control switches were turned off immediately after the plane departed. While the move was reversed about 10 seconds later, it was too late to avert the June 12 crash that killed 260 people on board the plane and on the ground.
Article content
Article content
Article content
How and why the switches came to be turned off — cutting the flow of fuel to the engines — are now the key lines of inquiry for investigators. Officials are probing whether it could be the result of a failure of the plane's systems or human error.
Article content
The two switches sit at the lower end of the aircraft's center console between the two pilot seats and near the thrust levers, and they're designed in a way to prevent unintended movement. There are metal guards on either side of the mushroom-shaped knobs, and the switches themselves have a spring-loaded locking mechanism, requiring a pilot to pull them up before changing the position. Once moved, the switches lock in the run or cutoff position with a tab at their base.
Article content
While the new details add fresh perspective on the confusion in the cockpit during the 32 seconds between takeoff and crash, investigators still haven't drawn any definitive conclusions.
Article content
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
3 hours ago
- CBC
Trump denies writing birthday message to Epstein described in Wall Street Journal report
The controversy over U.S. President Donald Trump's handling of records from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation entered a new dimension on Thursday, as his administration struggles to make good on its promises to release details on the sex-trafficking case involving a one-time friend of the now-president. Trump promised a lawsuit after the Wall Street Journal described a sexually suggestive letter that the newspaper says bore Trump's name and was included in a 2003 album for Epstein's 50th birthday. Trump denied writing the letter, calling it "false, malicious and defamatory." CBC News has not verified the Wall Street Journal report independently. It came after Trump in recent days has berated as "weaklings" supporters vying for more records from the Epstein probe, after years of courting political support from those who have stoked claims of a coverup in the case to protect wealthy friends of Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 awaiting trial on federal charges of trafficking of underage girls. Trump has also shielded his attorney general from being questioned about the case after she walked back claims of the existence of a "client list" of elites who participated in Epstein's crimes, and he has even taken to claiming without evidence that files were doctored by Democrats. Transcripts to be released In an administration that prides itself on changing the narrative on negative storylines, the Epstein saga has had remarkable staying power, thanks in part to infighting at high levels of government, Trump's blistering criticism of his own base and the head-scratching mystery of why documents his own administration promised to unlock will remain buried — seemingly for good. Thursday's disclosure — coupled with frustration from Trump-allied lawmakers on Capitol Hill — pushed the Republican president to abruptly reverse course and direct U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to try to make some of the documents in the case public. Bondi said she would seek court permission on Friday to release grand jury information, but it would require a judge's approval, and she and Trump were silent on the additional evidence collected by federal law enforcement in the sprawling investigation that Bondi last week announced she would not release. The letter revealed by the Wall Street Journal was reportedly collected by disgraced British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell as part of a birthday album for Epstein, three years before the wealthy financier was first arrested in 2006 and subsequently had a falling-out with Trump. Maxwell was arrested in 2020 and convicted a year later on charges that she helped Epstein lure girls to be sexually abused. The letter bearing Trump's name includes text framed by the outline of what appears to be a hand-drawn naked woman and ends with, "Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret," according to the newspaper. The outlet described the contents of the letter but did not publish a photo showing it entirely. 'I don't draw pictures': Trump Trump slammed the story in a lengthy social media post on Thursday night, saying he spoke to both the paper's owner, Rupert Murdoch, and its top editor, Emma Tucker, and told them the letter was "fake." Trump promised to sue the paper over the story, saying: "These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don't draw pictures." U.S. Vice-President JD Vance said the newspaper "should be ashamed" for publishing it. "Where is this letter? Would you be shocked to learn they never showed it to us before publishing it? Does anyone honestly believe this sounds like Donald Trump?" he wrote on social media platform X. The Trump administration has been struggling for nearly two weeks to contain the fallout of the U.S. Justice Department's announcement that no more Epstein evidence in the government's possession would be released to the public despite promises of transparency from Bondi. The Justice Department's reversal on the Epstein files not only angered Trump supporters but touched off a testy exchange at the White House last week between Bondi and FBI deputy director Dan Bongino that neither official has publicly addressed. The department has yet to provide a full accounting of its reversal months after Bondi handed out binders to conservative influencers at the White House that read "Epstein Files: Phase 1" and "the most transparent administration." Bondi earlier this week refused to answer questions from reporters about the Epstein files and her relationship with Bongino.
CBC
5 hours ago
- CBC
2 people rescued after float plane crash off Lasqueti Island, B.C.
Two people were safely rescued after a float plane crashed in False Bay on the west side of Lasqueti Island, B.C., Thursday morning, according to officials and a witness who assisted with the rescue. Al Bajec, owner of Lasqueti Island Hotel and Pub, was making coffee just after 9 a.m. when he says he heard the float plane coming in. The plane, which Bajec believes belongs to Telus, comes every Thursday to drop off a couple of workers on the island, which is located about 70 kilometres northwest of Vancouver. Bajec said that on Thursday, it appeared to be coming in at a lower angle, but was otherwise normal, with relatively calm waters. "When it hit the water, it just went right in the water and just flipped," he said, describing the plane flipping over its front. Bajec said he and a friend rushed down to the dock and got in his boat, while another friend who was set to go fishing was already on the water. The boat that was already on the water got to the plane first and pulled the pilot and passenger, who had already escaped the submerged plane, out of the sea. "They have no scratch or nothing. They just have a little bit of hurting on their eyes because of the gas on the water, but that's it. The rest — everything's fine. They're in good shape," said Bajec. He said he used his boat to pull the upside-down plane to the dock, where he tied it up. According to Capt. Pedram Mohyeddin with Maritime Forces Pacific, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Victoria, got a report a little after 9 a.m. that a float plane had overturned. Two vessels were deployed — RCMSAR 59 based in Deep Bay on Vancouver Island and a Canadian Coast Guard Motor Life Boat based at the French Creek station in Parksville. A Cormorant helicopter was also deployed from Comox. Mohyeddin said when the crews arrived in False Bay, civilians had already rescued the two people, who were brought back to Parksville on the coast guard boat. B.C. Emergency Health Services said an air ambulance was sent to Lasqueti Island, but it ultimately wasn't required. Telus confirmed by email that an accident occurred, and that the pilot and passenger were unharmed. The company spokesperson said Telus was investigating the incident, but didn't respond to follow-up questions from CBC News to clarify whether the company owned the plane and what sort of work was being done on the island. The federal Transportation Safety Board confirmed it had been notified of the crash, but hadn't determined on Thursday whether a full investigation would be launched, saying there were no plans to deploy investigators to Lasqueti Island. Bajec said there appeared to be spilled fuel in the spot where the plane flipped, but he didn't smell it around the dock where it was tied up. He said spill equipment had been put in the water around the plane.
CTV News
5 hours ago
- CTV News
Death of motorcyclist marks 20th fatal crash in Edmonton this year
A man killed in a motorcycle crash in Edmonton on Tuesday is the 20th person to die on city streets this year.
