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The Irish Sun
21-07-2025
- General
- The Irish Sun
How pilots cutting engines sparked TWO plane disasters after South Korea & India crashes as calls for cockpit CCTV grow
PILOTS manually cutting the engines were to blame for the two most deadly air crashes of this decade, investigations suggest. With a total of 420 lives lost in the flick of three buttons, urgent questions are swirling about what can be done to reduce the risk of pilot error or 8 The wreckage of a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 which crashed and burned at Muan International Airport in South Korea in December Credit: AFP 8 Some 179 people were killed in the disaster Credit: AFP 8 An Air India plane smashed down into a built-up are in June, and killed all but one of the 242 people on board Credit: Alamy 8 Former airline pilot Terry Tozer explained what could have contributed to the pilots' actions Credit: Channel 5 News The Jeju Air emergency-landing crash Investigators have sensationally revealed there is "clear evidence" that the Jeju Air pilots mistakenly shut down the wrong engine after a bird strike. The plane was then forced to make an emergency landing at Muan International Airport on December 29, where it slammed into a concrete wall and burst into a fireball. Meanwhile, the leading theory in the Air India crash is tha t the pilot — a move aviation experts say could read more on the air disasters A report from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau of India (AAIB) revealed a recording of the panicked co-pilot asking which the main pilot shut off the engines. Terry Tozer, former airline pilot and author of "Confessions of an Airline Pilot – Why Planes Crash", told The Sun that it would have been be possible for the Air India pilot to shut off the engines without the other noticing. In the cockpit were Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder. Terry said: "The handling pilot, which we know was the First Officer, would have had his hands full. Most read in The US Sun "He would have had his hands on the controls, but the monitoring pilot [Sumeet] would have his hands free." What caused fireball South Korea plane crash as 179 confirmed dead in horror explosion "There is absolutely no procedure or logical reason why you would shut the engines off just after takeoff. That's so blindingly obvious that it doesn't need to be stated. "So either it happened by accident, which I think a lot of people find extremely hard to believe or it was done deliberately." Terry said that the switches are "latched", meaning you have to lift them up before you can move them. Despite the safety mechanism, Terry said it would 'probably' have been possible for one pilot to shut down the engines without the monitoring pilot noticing, because the switches "would be kind of behind his natural line of sight". The experience pilot also called on investigators to release a key piece of evidence that could clear up what happened in India. 8 Captain Sumeet Sabharwal is thought to have switched both the engines off shortly after take off A cockpit view of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft shows the fuel switch; 8 Brit Vishwas Ramesh was the only survivor of the Air India disaster Credit: Dan Charity He explained the area microphone on the cockpit voice recorder would have picked up the sound of the switches being flicked. Terry said: 'So it would have been helpful if the investigators had said whether or not they were able to tell whether a switch type sound was detectable around about the time that they think the switches might have been switched off.' Speaking about the Jeju crash, Terry said the pilots "obviously" shut down the wrong engine by "mistake" - but revealed they would have been contending with a chaos in the cockpit. He said: 'They probably would have had all kinds of bells and whistles going off and lots of indications that both engines were in trouble.' The former pilot said "takes time to analyze whether or not you should shut down one or neither or both" - but this was time the Jeju pilots did not have. He also said the new revelations about those crucial moments had been revealed in a "very odd manner". Terry said: "I understand that it was released to the relatives of the victims and in private, prior to release to the general public. "And then that causes riots and chaos." 8 A family member of a victim of the Jeju air crash mourns at the site Credit: EPA 8 An engine of the Jeju Air passenger plane wreckage is salvaged days after the crash Credit: EPA However, Terry said that whatever happened in the two cockpits, there is one factor that determines passengers' fate above all else. He said the 'single most important thing' in passenger safety is the "airline culture". Terry explained: 'If it is a disciplined professional safety culture with a good training regime, then that makes a huge difference.' Terry recalled a similar occasion when the wrong engine was shut down - the Kegworth air disaster of 1989 - and said that was "definitely a cultural problem in the training department'. 'That may have been a factor with Jeju Air,' he said. In the wake of the two tragedies, many aviation figures have called for he introduction of cockpit CCTV. That would clear up immediately how the two engines came to be shut off on the Air India flight - but Terry said pilots would push back. He said: 'I can see why the investigators might welcome cockpit CCTV. "We should be doing everything we can to minimize crashes. 'And in any responsible environment, with a good airline and a regulatory environment that is already happening. "And obviously, if there was a video evidence of what went on on the cockpit. They would know the answers pretty clearly by now. "But it's something that I think pilots would resist, for the simple reason that they're already scrutinized, trained, checked, examined, monitored, regulated so much."
Scottish Sun
21-07-2025
- General
- Scottish Sun
How pilots cutting engines sparked TWO plane disasters after South Korea & India crashes as calls for cockpit CCTV grow
FALL FROM THE SKY How pilots cutting engines sparked TWO plane disasters after South Korea & India crashes as calls for cockpit CCTV grow PILOTS manually cutting the engines were to blame for the two most deadly air crashes of this decade, investigations suggest. With a total of 420 lives lost in the flick of three buttons, urgent questions are swirling about what can be done to reduce the risk of pilot error or sabotage. Advertisement 8 The wreckage of a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 which crashed and burned at Muan International Airport in South Korea in December Credit: AFP 8 Some 179 people were killed in the disaster Credit: AFP 8 An Air India plane smashed down into a built-up are in June, and killed all but one of the 242 people on board Credit: Alamy 8 Former airline pilot Terry Tozer explained what could have contributed to the pilots' actions Credit: Channel 5 News The Jeju Air emergency-landing crash killed 179 people in December, and 241 people died when the Air India plane came down shortly after takeoff in June. Investigators have sensationally revealed there is "clear evidence" that the Jeju Air pilots mistakenly shut down the wrong engine after a bird strike. The plane was then forced to make an emergency landing at Muan International Airport on December 29, where it slammed into a concrete wall and burst into a fireball. Meanwhile, the leading theory in the Air India crash is that the pilot manually flipped both guarded fuel switches to the 'cut-off' position — a move aviation experts say could only have been deliberate. Advertisement read more on the air disasters CRASH DISASTER Pilots of doomed South Korean plane 'switched off wrong engine', killing 179 A report from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau of India (AAIB) revealed a recording of the panicked co-pilot asking which the main pilot shut off the engines. Terry Tozer, former airline pilot and author of "Confessions of an Airline Pilot – Why Planes Crash", told The Sun that it would have been be possible for the Air India pilot to shut off the engines without the other noticing. In the cockpit were Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder. Terry said: "The handling pilot, which we know was the First Officer, would have had his hands full. Advertisement "He would have had his hands on the controls, but the monitoring pilot [Sumeet] would have his hands free." What caused fireball South Korea plane crash as 179 confirmed dead in horror explosion "There is absolutely no procedure or logical reason why you would shut the engines off just after takeoff. That's so blindingly obvious that it doesn't need to be stated. "So either it happened by accident, which I think a lot of people find extremely hard to believe or it was done deliberately." Terry said that the switches are "latched", meaning you have to lift them up before you can move them. Advertisement Despite the safety mechanism, Terry said it would 'probably' have been possible for one pilot to shut down the engines without the monitoring pilot noticing, because the switches "would be kind of behind his natural line of sight". The experience pilot also called on investigators to release a key piece of evidence that could clear up what happened in India. 8 Captain Sumeet Sabharwal is thought to have switched both the engines off shortly after take off A cockpit view of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft shows the fuel switch; Advertisement 8 Brit Vishwas Ramesh was the only survivor of the Air India disaster Credit: Dan Charity He explained the area microphone on the cockpit voice recorder would have picked up the sound of the switches being flicked. Terry said: 'So it would have been helpful if the investigators had said whether or not they were able to tell whether a switch type sound was detectable around about the time that they think the switches might have been switched off.' Speaking about the Jeju crash, Terry said the pilots "obviously" shut down the wrong engine by "mistake" - but revealed they would have been contending with a chaos in the cockpit. Advertisement He said: 'They probably would have had all kinds of bells and whistles going off and lots of indications that both engines were in trouble.' The former pilot said "takes time to analyze whether or not you should shut down one or neither or both" - but this was time the Jeju pilots did not have. He also said the new revelations about those crucial moments had been revealed in a "very odd manner". Terry said: "I understand that it was released to the relatives of the victims and in private, prior to release to the general public. Advertisement "And then that causes riots and chaos." 8 A family member of a victim of the Jeju air crash mourns at the site Credit: EPA 8 An engine of the Jeju Air passenger plane wreckage is salvaged days after the crash Credit: EPA Advertisement However, Terry said that whatever happened in the two cockpits, there is one factor that determines passengers' fate above all else. He said the 'single most important thing' in passenger safety is the "airline culture". Terry explained: 'If it is a disciplined professional safety culture with a good training regime, then that makes a huge difference.' Terry recalled a similar occasion when the wrong engine was shut down - the Kegworth air disaster of 1989 - and said that was "definitely a cultural problem in the training department'. Advertisement 'That may have been a factor with Jeju Air,' he said. In the wake of the two tragedies, many aviation figures have called for he introduction of cockpit CCTV. That would clear up immediately how the two engines came to be shut off on the Air India flight - but Terry said pilots would push back. He said: 'I can see why the investigators might welcome cockpit CCTV. Advertisement "We should be doing everything we can to minimize crashes. 'And in any responsible environment, with a good airline and a regulatory environment that is already happening. "And obviously, if there was a video evidence of what went on on the cockpit. They would know the answers pretty clearly by now. "But it's something that I think pilots would resist, for the simple reason that they're already scrutinized, trained, checked, examined, monitored, regulated so much."
The Irish Sun
13-07-2025
- General
- The Irish Sun
Pilot error, a suicide mission or mechanical issue… just what – or who – turned off the fuel on Air India Flight 171?
TO the terrified locals who ducked when Air India Flight 171 narrowly missed their apartment block, captain Sumeet Sabharwal and his first officer are heroes. They are convinced the two pilots saved hundreds of lives by diverting the jet at the last moment after it suffered a catastrophic lack of thrust seconds after take-off. 5 Captain Sumeet Sabharwal Credit: Instagram 5 Co-pilot Clive Kunder was at the controls of the Air India jet when it crashed 5 Debris from Air India Flight 171 in Ahmedabad, India in June Yet those grateful families, along with the rest of the world, are now contemplating the awful possibility that either This is because That could be down to a mechanical issue or a deliberate act by one of the pilots — and aviation experts have told The Sun that the focus is very much on the latter. The 15-page document released by As the engines cut out, one of the two pilots is heard in the black box flight recording frantically asking the other: 'Why did you cut off?', to which the second insists, 'I did not do so'. Moments after the exchange, the switches were turned back on. One engine did restart but not in time to avert tragedy. The jet roared over a three-storey apartment block where 18 families live right next to Ahmedabad airport, missing the top floor by a few feet. Air India victims' families slam 'cover-up' probe as questions remain over possible engine switch confusion 'Murky situation' It then clipped trees and a building inside a compound belonging to the Army Medical Corps before slamming into a medical college, with nearly 60 tons of aviation fuel exploding in a ferocious fireball. Nineteen people died on the ground and all but one of the 242 people on board were killed. Miracle survivor The preliminary report does not rule out the possibility that the fuel supply was cut off due to a mechanical issue. But industry experts yesterday said the spotlight was firmly on the pilots — first officer Kunder, 32, who was at the controls, and captain Sabharwal, 56, who was 'pilot monitoring'. Terry Tozer, former pilot and author of Confessions Of An Airline Pilot — Why Planes Crash, said: 'The report is absolutely shocking. 'The implication is that somebody on the flight deck turned the fuel switches to cut-off and then somebody rescued that situation and put them back to 'run'. 'The engines began to reignite but they didn't have a chance to recover. The report is absolutely shocking. The implication is that somebody on the flight deck turned the fuel switches to cut-off and then somebody rescued that situation and put them back to 'run' Terry Tozer 'First one switch and then the other was set to cut-off, and that's how it would be done if you were doing it deliberately. 'If we assume the switches were functioning as intended, you could not knock them off accidentally. 'One pilot said to the other, 'Why did you turn the fuel off?' and the other one said, 'I didn't'. 'So obviously one of them thought the other one deliberately turned them off. 'It's a murky situation.' Air safety expert Julian Bray believes that pilot suicide is a possibility, just like in Julian said: 'It's impossible for a pilot to turn the switches from run to cut-off by accident. 'It has to be a deliberate act. 'It could be pilot suicide, which we had with Germanwings. 'We don't know yet from the exchange on the flight deck because one says, 'Why did you turn it off?' and the other comes back, 'I didn't'. Was he suddenly feeling guilty?' Julian also raised the possibility of a software glitch or even a third person being present in the cockpit. He said: 'Could it have been someone in the jump seat? 'The Dreamliner has two jump seats, which are behind the pilot and co-pilot seats. 'It's not uncommon for people to be in the jump seat. 'Quite often pilots or cabin crew will hitch a lift if there are no passenger seats available. 'Someone in one of the jump seats could have been feeling suicidal and leaned over and turned the switches. 5 Air India flight AI171 pictured moments before the crash 5 Thick black smoke billowing from the site after the crash 'It's highly unlikely, but it is conceivable and can't be ruled out. 'Also, what we don't know is whether there is a software override in the Dreamliner that can actually do that automatically. 'If it's a dire emergency then all sorts of other systems come into play that might have been part of another procedure. 'The investigators will be looking at all the systems and will try to work out whether it was fired remotely by the software, because these glitches have happened before.' Aviation lawyer Demetrius Danas, from legal firm Irwin Mitchell, is representing a number of the British victims' families. He said: 'The initial findings are deeply concerning. 'Three seconds after take-off, the fuel was cut off to one engine and then almost immediately the other one. 'It is a really chilling conversation between the two pilots. The initial findings are deeply concerning. Three seconds after take-off, the fuel was cut off to one engine and then almost immediately the other one. It is a really chilling conversation between the two pilotsegan to reignite but they didn't have a chance to recover Demetrius Danas 'Hopefully we will learn what was said before this exchange but it does seem clear these two buttons were switched off and then tried to be put back on again, but it was too late. 'If it is pilot error, was it inadvertent, absent-minded or was it deliberate? 'It is baffling. 'If it's intentional, is it muscle memory doing something you have done many times before but on this occasion at the wrong time? 'The switches are used on every flight, but when it ends. 'This time it was done when it started. 'The families are desperate to know why the engines were starved of fuel and how that happened.' Lawyer, aviation expert and qualified helicopter pilot James Healy-Pratt, of Keystone Law, is representing another 20 of the British families. He added a note of caution to the speculation that the fuel switches were turned off by a deliberate act. James said: 'It is possible they were deliberately touched, but that's as hard as I can go at the moment. 'I think it is too early to come to conclusions such as suicide or mass homicide, because put yourself in the shoes of one of the families. 'It's one thing to lose loved ones from an accident. 'It's very different to lose loved ones who suddenly become victims of an intentional crime. 'Everything does now centre around two things — those fuel control levers and what happened in the cockpit over about 20 seconds. 'We will be filing a lawsuit against Boeing in the States to get more information about those switches. 'It's the only way we have of trying to get some evidence, and our families want answers.' One of the families waiting to learn more are the relatives of Ashok Patel, 74, and his wife Shobhana, 71, from Orpington, Kent. They had been married for 47 years and were flying home after visiting India on a religious pilgrimage. Furious row Ashok was a financial adviser and Shobhana a microbiologist who had worked for the NHS for 37 years. Son Miten, 40, who now wears the emerald ring his dad had on when he died and which was recovered from the crash site, said: 'They had gone through so many challenges in life. 'They had this strength that you don't give up. That is what is keeping us going now. They were inseparable and were loved by so many people. 'It's incredible the number of text messages I have had since they died. 'Dad had the ability to walk into a room and talk to anyone. He was always interested in other people. 'And Mum was the rock of our extended family. She was there every day for any relative, in good times or bad. If someone was coming round for lunch she would make a full-blown Hindu meal. 'I would say, 'Mum, what are you doing? You're spending the entire evening making this huge meal and they are just calling round'. 'She would say, 'They're coming to our house and we always welcome our guests properly'. It's impossible for a pilot to turn the switches from run to cut-off by accident. It has to be a deliberate act. It could be pilot suicide, which we had with Germanwings Julian Bray 'Since the plane went down, there have been so many theories but until we see the final report that this is the cause or that is the cause, only then should we go down that route. 'It is going to take time, which causes more heartache and frustration because people want answers. 'For all of the families this is a tragedy and we are entitled to know what happened and there has to be accountability. 'But we have to wait for the final report and hope it will conclude on evidence-based information which will prevent this from ever happening again.' The preliminary report reveals that But that was not due to any problem with the switches, and there has been no report of any defect with the switches since then, it states. That further turns the focus on to the pilots, which has triggered a furious row in India. The Airline Pilots' Association of India blasted the report because it 'appears biased toward pilot error'. The pilots union added: 'This investigation seems to presume pilot fault, and we strongly object to that narrative. 'We strongly reject any premature conclusions and urge a fact-based, unbiased inquiry.' Meanwhile, the only survivor from the flight continues to struggle to deal with the aftermath a month on from crawling out of the wreckage.
Time of India
12-07-2025
- General
- Time of India
Air India crash findings raise more questions than answers
The preliminary report on the Air India flight 171 crash reveals that both engine fuel control switches were deliberately shut off shortly after takeoff. Experts are baffled, noting the switches require intentional action and standard procedures dictate shutting down only a failed engine. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads ( Originally published on Jul 12, 2025 ) The preliminary report into the Air India flight 171 crash confirmed that both engine fuel control switches were moved to the cut-off position shortly after takeoff, but it left the key question as to why this happened unanswered, said experts."I'm very surprised and disheartened to learn about the movement of the fuel control switches," said Capt. John Cox, veteran pilot and safety analyst. "There is more investigative work to do, a lot more, but I think that we know what happened. Now the focus becomes why."As per standard protocol, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau 's (AAIB) preliminary report did not offer any analysis or conclusions, which will figure in the final report. According to the cockpit voice recorder , one pilot asked why did the other shut off the fuel control switches. The other replied that he didn't. The report did not clarify which pilot said said that the switches are designed to prevent accidental activation. "You have to deliberately lift them and move them. It wouldn't be something that could vibrate out of position. That is by design," he said. "There's a lot of evidence pointing to these switches being moved by a person." "In all my 55 years in aviation, I can think of only one other case I'm aware of where something like that happened," he added, referring to a 1987 Delta Air Lines 767 incident. The crew accidentally moved both switches but managed to restart the engines and land Soucie, former Federal Aviation Administration safety inspector and author of 'Why Planes Crash', called the Air India crash "highly irregular and without precedent". He said that pilots are trained to identify the failed engine and shut down only that one using a checklist."In this case, both cutoffs were pulled in rapid succession, with no verbal coordination or checklist discipline, which raises serious concerns," he said. "From a procedural standpoint, the only justification for such action would be if both engines had already failed or were on fire. That was clearly not the case."Soucie said he was initially inclined to believe the action wasn't intentional. "But the timing and manner of the shutdown are not consistent with standard pilot training . Either the pilot didn't understand what the switches do, or the action was made without deliberate cognitive intent. Both are deeply troubling," he Amit Singh, founder of the Safety Matters Foundation, pointed to a potential discrepancy in the timeline.
