India investigators say too early to draw conclusions on Air India crash cause
NEW DELHI – India's aircraft accident investigation body said on July 17 it was too early to reach any 'definite conclusions' on what led to the deadly Air India Boeing plane crash in June that killed 260 people.
'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 the investigation is still not complete.
Earlier on July 17, the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with US officials' early assessment of evidence, reported that a cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots of the flight indicated that the
captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane's engines.
The AAIB's preliminary report on the crash on July 12 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.
First Officer Kunder, who was flying the plane, asked Capt 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 Capt Sabharwal did move the switches, beyond the verbal exchange it cited.
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But it quoted US pilots who have read the Indian authorities' report as saying that First Officer 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. REUTERS
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