India investigators say too early to draw conclusions on Air India crash cause
'We urge both the public and the media to refrain from spreading premature narratives that risk undermining the integrity of the investigative process,' Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) chief GVG Yugandhar said, adding that the investigation is still not complete.
Earlier on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with U.S. officials' early assessment of evidence, reported that a cockpit recording of dialog between the two pilots of the flight indicated that the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane's engines.
Reuters could not independently verify the Wall Street Journal's report.
The AAIB's preliminary report on the crash on Saturday said one pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel and 'the other pilot responded that he did not do so.' It did not identify who made those remarks.
The two pilots in the flight deck were Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder, who had total flying experience of 15,638 hours and 3,403 hours, respectively.
Kunder, who was flying the plane, asked Sabharwal why he moved the fuel switches to the 'cutoff' position seconds after lifting off the runway, according to the Journal report.
The newspaper did not say if there was any evidence that Sabharwal did move the switches, beyond the verbal exchange it cited. But it quoted U.S. pilots who have read the Indian authorities' report as saying that Kunder, the pilot actively flying, likely would have had his hands full pulling back on the Dreamliner's controls at that stage of the flight.
(Reporting by Abhijith Ganapavaram, Editing by Mark Potter, William Maclean)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
15 hours ago
- CBC
Teacher recalls 'massive sound' as fighter jet crashes into Bangladesh school
A teacher described the moment a fighter jet on a training mission crashed into a school in Dhaka on Monday, and the shock of seeing children trying to get out of the building.
CBC
16 hours ago
- CBC
South Korean pilot may have shut off less-damaged engine in crash that killed 179 people
Social Sharing The initial results of an investigation into December's devastating Jeju Air crash in South Korea showed that while the plane's both engines sustained bird strikes, its pilots turned off the less-damaged one just before its crash-landing. The finding, which implied human errors, drew quick, vehement protests from bereaved families and fellow pilots who accuse authorities of trying to shift responsibility for the disaster to the dead pilots. South Korea's Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board initially planned to publicize the results of an investigation of the plane's engines on Saturday. But it was forced to cancel its news briefing in the face of strong protests by relatives of crash victims who were informed of the findings earlier in the day, according to government officials and bereaved families. "If they want to say their investigation was done in a reliable, independent manner, they should have come up with evidence that backs up their explanation," said Kim Yu-jin, head of an association of bereaved families. "None of us resent the pilots." The Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air landed on its belly without its land gear deployed at South Korea's southern Muan International Airport on Dec. 29. It overshot the runaway, slammed into a concrete structure and burst into flames. It was the deadliest disaster in South Korea's aviation history in decades, killing all but two of the 181 people on board. According to a copy of an unpublished briefing report obtained by The Associated Press, a South Korean-led multilateral investigation team said it found no defects in the plane's engines, built by France's Safran and GE. The report said thorough examinations of the engines found the plane's right engine suffered more serious internal damage following bird strikes, as it was engulfed with big fires and black smoke. But the pilots switched off the plane's left engine, the report said, citing probes on the cockpit voice recorder, the flight data recorder and engine examinations. Officials earlier said the black boxes of the Boeing jetliner stopped recording about four minutes before the accident, complicating investigations into the cause of the disaster. The cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder cited in the briefing report refers to data stored before the recording stopped. The report didn't say why the pilots shut off the less-damaged engine and stopped short of saying whether it was an error by the pilots. Pilots' union slams finding Bereaved families and pilots at Jeju Air and other airlines lambasted the investigation findings, saying authorities must disclose the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder. "We, the 6,500 pilots at civilian airlines, can't contain our seething anger against the preposterous argument by the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board that lost neutrality," the Korean Pilot Unions Alliance said in a statement Tuesday. Unionized pilots at Jeju Air also issued a statement urging authorities to present scientific evidence to show the plane should have landed normally if it flew with the less-damaged engine. The latest report focused only on engine issues and didn't mention other factors that could also be blamed for the crash. Among them is the concrete structure the plane crashed into. It housed a set of antennas called localizers designed to guide aircraft safely during landings, and many analysts say it should have been made with more easily breakable materials. Some pilots say they suspect the government wouldn't want to prominently blame the localizers or bird strikes for mass deaths as the Muan airport is under direct management of the country's Transport Ministry. The Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board and the Transport Ministry have offered no public response to the criticism. Kwon Bo Hun, dean of the aeronautics college at the Far East University in South Korea, called the government's planned announcement "clumsy" because it didn't disclose evidence that supported its finding on the pilots. He said it only irritated "emotional parts of us that the investigation puts the whole blame on dead people." A former Transport Ministry-turned-university professor reached by the AP said the engine investigation report must be "reliable" as it's based on an analysis of cockpit voice and flight data recorders that "don't lie." He spoke on condition of anonymity citing the delicate nature of the issue.
National Post
17 hours ago
- National Post
Air India says no issues in locking mechanism of fuel control switches in Boeing fleet
Air India said Tuesday that it had completed precautionary inspections on the locking mechanism of fuel control switches for select Boeing aircrafts, with 'no issues' found. Article content The announcement came days after a preliminary investigation into last month's Air India plane crash stated that the switches shifted and flipped within seconds, starving both engines of fuel. Article content Article content Air India operates a fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners for long-distance operations, while subsidiary and low-cost unit Air India Express operates the Boeing 737 jets for short-haul flights. Article content The airline said in a statement that it carried out inspections on its entire fleet of both types of aircraft. Article content 'In the inspections, no issues were found with the said locking mechanism,' it said. Article content The investigation by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau into the London-bound plane that crashed in the northwestern city of Ahmedabad on June 12, killing 260 people, is centered around the fuel control switches on the Boeing 787 jetliner. One person survived the crash. Article content Article content Last week, India's aviation regulator ordered all airlines operating several Boeing models to examine fuel control switches and submit their findings to the regulator by July 21. Article content Air India has 33 Dreamliners in its fleet, and Air India Express operates 75 Boeing 737 jets. Article content Article content In the past few weeks, the airline has faced disruptions in services amid heightened scrutiny and additional safety inspections, leading to flight delays, cancellations and growing passenger anxiety. Article content Article content On Monday, an Air India Airbus 320 flight veered off the runway as it landed during heavy rainfall at Mumbai International Airport, partially damaging the underside of one of the plane's engines and leading to a temporary runway closure. Article content The flight had flown from Kochi in the southern state of Kerala. The airline said in a statement that all passengers and crew members disembarked safely and the aircraft was grounded for checks. Article content Indian conglomerate Tata Sons took over Air India in 2022, returning the debt-saddled national carrier to private ownership after decades of government control. Article content The $2.4 billion deal was seen as the government's effort to sell off a loss-making, state-run businesses. It also was in some ways a homecoming for Air India, which was launched by the Tata family in 1932.
