Latest news with #FinalInvestigationReport
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Air India crash probe: ‘AAIB totally unbiased…want to stand with truth,' says Civil Aviation Minister Naidu in Rajya Sabha
On Day 1 of the Monsoon session of the Parliament Monday, a series of questions were raised on the ongoing Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau-led (AAIB) investigation into the June 12 Air India plane crash near Ahmedabad airport which claimed 260 lives including 241 of the 242 onboard and 19 others on the ground. Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu, addressing the Upper House during the Question Hour, said the AAIB is 'totally unbiased' and is carrying out a definitive and rule-based probe. 'We want to stand with truth, not anything else… we want to find out what exactly happened in the Air India plane crash and that will come out only after AAIB final probe report,' Naidu said, addressing speculations over the AAIB's preliminary probe report on the Ahmedabad-London Gatwick bound plane, released on July 12. Naidu also said that in a first of its kind instance, the AAIB has been successful in decoding data from black boxes of the crashed Air India plane in India itself. The autonomous body's team probing the Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 crash is a multidisciplinary team including its AAIB Director General GVG Yugandhar, an aviation medicine specialist, an air traffic control officer, and representatives from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). While the initial report came under the scanner for being worded beyond the mandate and giving additional details, but selectively, chief Yugandhar said: 'The purpose of the AAIB's investigation and preliminary report is to provide information about 'WHAT' happened… At this stage, it is too early to reach to any definite conclusions. The investigation…is still not complete. The Final Investigation Report will come out with root causes and recommendations,' The full report is expected in about a year's time. On June 12 (Thursday), the Boeing plane—operating flight AI 171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick—crashed moments after take-off, killing 260 people, including 241 of the 242 on board and 19 on the ground. According to the 15-page report, the flight lasted 'around 30 seconds' between lift-off and crash.
Indian Express
4 days ago
- General
- Indian Express
Air India crash probe: From black box retrieval to AAIB's preliminary report — a timeline of key events
Exactly a month after the deadly aviation disaster, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released its preliminary report of the investigation into the June 12 Air India plane crash near Ahmedabad airport which killed 260 people. The probe led by the autonomous body is under the spotlight, more so since the release of its 15-page initial report on July 12, post midnight. The AAIB team probing the Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 crash is a multidisciplinary team including its AAIB Director General GVG Yugandhar, an aviation medicine specialist, an air traffic control officer, and representatives from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). While the initial report came under the scanner for being worded beyond the mandate and giving additional details, but selectively, chief Yugandhar said: 'The purpose of the AAIB's investigation and preliminary report is to provide information about 'WHAT' happened… At this stage, it is too early to reach to any definite conclusions. The investigation…is still not complete. The Final Investigation Report will come out with root causes and recommendations,' The full report is expected in about a year's time. As the AAIB-led investigation continues to be watched globally, here's a timeline of key events in the probe so far: On June 12 (Thursday), the Boeing plane—operating flight AI 171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick—crashed moments after take-off, killing 260 people, including 241 of the 242 on board and 19 on the ground. According to the 15-page report, the flight lasted 'around 30 seconds' between lift-off and crash. This was the worst aviation disaster involving an Indian airline in at least four decades, and the first fatal crash of 787 Dreamliner, Boeing's latest generation wide-body aircraft. -Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) launches an investigation into the Air India crash. -The aft Enhanced Airborne Flight Recorders (EAFR) or the rear black box from the tail section of the plane is found from the rooftop of the BJ Medical College hostel mess building. It had suffered extensive internal thermal damage, as per officials. Two days after the crash, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) held a briefing where no questions were taken. Up until the release of the official preliminary report, there were just a few press releases on the status of the probe The next day, a team led by a NTSB representative including those from Boeing, GE and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) arrived in Ahmedabad and participated in the on-site investigation. A team of officials from AAIB's team from the UK also arrived and visited the site with Yugandhar, the initial report specifies. The second black box unit (the forward EAFR) is also recovered from debris at the crash site near Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. It was burnt and covered in soot. Two black boxes from General Electric Co (GE.N), one in the aircraft's front and another at the rear, are installed on Boeing's 787 jets, as per news agency Reuters. Both contain a cockpit voice recorder and a flight data recorder with the same sets of data. Both EAFRs are transported from Ahmedabad to the AAIB's facility in New Delhi. The data from damaged flight recorders was downloaded by the AAIB after sourcing 'Golden Chassis' and relevant download cables from the DGCA and other Accident Investigation Authorities, the report states. Here, the required 'Golden Chassis' (Identical EAFR unit) and Download cables were sourced from the US via the NTSB on June 23. The downloaded flight data contained approximately 49 hours of flight data and 6 flights, including the event flight. The findings of the preliminary investigation report released by the AAIB provide the most detailed account of the incident on June 12. It revealed that the aircraft's engine fuel control switches transitioned from 'RUN' to 'CUTOFF' position within a second of each other moments after lift-off. To be sure, the report doesn't mention that the fuel control switches — which allow and cut fuel flow to the plane's engines — moved physically, and uses the term 'transitioned' to describe the change of mode from RUN to CUTOFF. It also does not state these were moved by either of the pilots. From the cockpit voice recorder data, the preliminary probe report notes that one of the pilots asked the other why he cut off the fuel, to which the other pilot responded saying he did not. The pilot flying was co-pilot Clive Kunder, while pilot-in-command Sumeet Sabharwal was pilot monitoring for this flight. The report also said there were no recommended actions to Boeing or GE at this stage, indicating that a fault in the aircraft or engines was unlikely. In an appeal issued on Thursday, AAIB Director General Yugandhar urged the public and the media to 'refrain from spreading premature narratives' around the ongoing investigation. He also said that sections of the international media are 'repeatedly attempting to draw conclusions through selective and unverified reporting', and termed it 'irresponsible' as the investigation is still on. Meanwhile on this day, The Indian Express reported that the investigators were examining the history of technical snags and the possibility of system malfunction that can impact the FADEC's (Full Authority Digital Engine Control) Engine Control Unit (the brain of the aircraft) to trigger 'uncommanded' actions. Urging everyone to avoid speculation, the head of the US probe agency Jennifer Homendy termed recent media reports surrounding the probable causes of the crash as 'premature and speculative'. This comes close on the heels of reports by a few US-based publications suggesting that deliberate action by one of the pilots was most likely the cause of the crash.
India.com
17-07-2025
- India.com
Ahmedabad Plane Crash: AAIB Slams Global Media For Unverified Coverage, Urges To Respect Sensitivity
New Delhi: The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on Thursday strongly criticized what it described as 'selective and unverified reporting' by certain international media outlets regarding last month's Air India crash in Ahmedabad. The agency warned that such premature speculation could jeopardize the integrity of the ongoing investigation. The response came after a Wall Street Journal report claimed that cockpit audio from the ill-fated flight allegedly indicated the captain had manually cut off the fuel supply to the engines. The AAIB has taken serious exception to such claims being reported as fact while the investigation is still underway. 'It has come to our attention that certain sections of the international media are repeatedly attempting to draw conclusions through selective and unverified reporting,' the AAIB said in a statement. 'Such actions are irresponsible, especially while the investigation remains ongoing. We urge both the public and the media to refrain from spreading premature narratives that risk undermining the integrity of the investigative process.' The bureau further emphasized the importance of compassion and discretion while covering such tragedies. 'It is essential to respect the sensitivity of family members of deceased passengers, crew, and others who died on the ground due to the plane crash," the Bureau added. Reiterating that no conclusions have been reached, the agency clarified, 'At this stage, it is too early to reach any definite conclusions. The investigation by AAIB is still not complete. The Final Investigation Report will come out with root causes and recommendations.' The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) also expressed concern, alleging that the AAIB's preliminary report may have overlooked key technical factors. In a letter to the Civil Aviation Ministry, the FIP stated that the report failed to account for two well-documented technical scenarios that could have caused an automated shutdown of both engines on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner involved in the crash. The FIP has called on the ministry to bring in additional subject matter experts to ensure a more comprehensive and technically accurate investigation. The preliminary findings, the association claims, appear to imply pilot error without presenting conclusive evidence or fully exploring alternative causes. 'The preliminary report appears to infer or suggest the possibility of pilot error, without presenting any conclusive evidence or exploring well-documented technical failure modes previously observed in a similar aircraft.' Meanwhile, ALPA-India, a grouping of commercial pilots, issued a statement defending the actions of the AI-171 crew, urging the media and public to maintain a fact-based and respectful discourse. 'The crew of AI-171 made every possible effort, till their very last breath, to protect the passengers on board and minimise harm on the ground. They deserve respect, not unfounded character judgments,' ALPA-India said, adding, 'We reiterate our call for a fact-based and respectful discourse.'
Time of India
17-07-2025
- Time of India
'Selective and unverified': Investigator calls out international media reports on Air India crash; says 'too early to reach definite conclusions'
NEW DELHI: The Air India crash investigator called out the international media for "selective and unverified" reporting on the June 12 Air India crash and said that such actions are "irresponsible. " This came after the American publication "Wall Street Journal" claimed that a cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots of the Air India flight that crashed last month indicates the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane's engines. In the statement, the AAIB said that the ill-fated Air India's B787-8 aircraft VT-ANB accident has been the most devastating incident in recent aviation history and the investigation is being undertaken in a rigorous and most professional manner in accordance with the Rules and international protocols. Slamming the international media, the AAIB said that this is not the time to create public anxiety or angst towards safety of Indian Aviation Industry, particularly on the basis of unfounded facts. "It has come to our attention that certain sections of the international media are repeatedly attempting to draw conclusions through selective and unverified reporting. Such actions are irresponsible, especially while the investigation remains ongoing. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The Most Successful Way of Intraday Trading is "Market Profile" TradeWise Learn More Undo We urge both the public and the media to refrain from spreading premature narratives that risk undermining the integrity of the investigative process," the AAIB said in a statement. AAIB also asked to to not to reach to any definite conclusions until the investigation by them is not completed and added that the report will come out with root causes and recommendations. "The purpose of the AAIB's investigation and preliminary report is to provide information about 'WHAT' happened. The preliminary report has to be seen in this light. At this stage, it is too early to reach to any definite conclusions. The investigation by AAIB is still not complete. The Final Investigation Report will come out with root causes and recommendations," it said in a statement. AAIB appealed to all concerned to await publication of Final Investigation Report after completion of the Investigation. AAIB will also publish updates as and when required which have technical and public interest.
