What is next for the Air India crash probe? 4 things to know
SOUMYAJIT SAHA
MUMBAI -- The preliminary report on last month's deadly Air India crash showed that cutting off of the fuel supply to the aircraft's two engines was likely the main cause of the crash, which killed 260 people.
In the widely anticipated preliminary report, published early on Saturday morning, India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said that the plane's fuel cutoff switches, which must be open to allow fuel to flow into the engines, were moved just after takeoff from Ahmedabad Airport in Gujarat, starving the engines as the aircraft tried to gain altitude.
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Japan Times
10 hours ago
- Japan Times
Air India junior pilot asked why captain turned off fuel switches, sources say
A cockpit voice recording of doomed Air India Flight 171 indicates that it was the younger co-pilot who asked his more experienced colleague why he turned off the plane's fuel-supply switches, according to people familiar with the matter. 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 cockpit. A preliminary report from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau released last week included a description of the exchange, including one pilot's denial that he turned off the switches, without identifying the individual speakers. Aviation experts had speculated that it was first officer Clive Kunder who had posed the question to captain Sumeet Sabharwal, given that Kunder was the pilot flying and would have had his hands full — one on the yoke commanding the wide-body 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. The initial investigation showed that the fuel-control switches on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner 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 in the city of Ahmedabad. 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. And 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. Earlier this week, India's civil aviation authority ordered an inspection of cockpit fuel switches on Boeing 737 and 787 aircraft operating in the country in an effort to ascertain whether the crash was caused by equipment failure. Aviation psychologists and medical specialists are also involved in the investigation — a typical practice across the aviation industry — to probe the role of the pilots in the crash. The first officer expressed surprise that the fuel switches were off and then panicked, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with U.S. officials' early assessment of evidence. The captain seemed to remain calm, according to the report. The Airline Pilots' Association of India has pushed back on human action as the cause. The AAIB didn't immediately respond to requests for comment sent outside normal business hours. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, which is assisting on the investigation, referred questions to the Indian authorities. Boeing also referred questions to the AAIB. Air India and GE Aerospace, which manufactured the engines, declined to comment. Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said in a memo to employees on Monday that the report identified no cause and didn't make any recommendations. "I urge everyone to avoid drawing premature conclusions as the investigation is far from over,' he said.
Yomiuri Shimbun
12 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Human Hair: A Water-Saving Tool in Drought-Hit Chile
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Japan Today
3 days ago
- Japan Today
Air India CEO says investigation into Ahmedabad crash raises new questions
Wreckage of the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane sits on the open ground, outside Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, where it took off and crashed nearby shortly afterwards, in Ahmedabad, India July 12, 2025. REUTERS/Amit Dave By Aditya Kalra and Chandini Monnappa A preliminary investigation into the crash of an Air India passenger jet last month that killed 260 people raises additional questions about the incident and the investigation is far from over, Air India's CEO said in a memo on Monday. The preliminary investigation released by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau on Saturday depicted confusion in the cockpit shortly before the crash of the Boeing Dreamliner. In a staff memo reviewed by Reuters, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said the report had "triggered a new round of speculation in the media ... Unsurprisingly, it provided both greater clarity and opened additional questions." He added: "The preliminary report identified no cause nor made any recommendations, so I urge everyone to avoid drawing premature conclusions as the investigation is far from over." The memo said the preliminary report found no mechanical or maintenance faults and that all required maintenance had been carried out. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner bound for London from the Indian city of Ahmedabad began to lose thrust and sink shortly after takeoff. All but one of the 242 people on board and 19 others on the ground were killed. According to the AAIB report, in the flight's final moments one pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel. "The other pilot responded that he did not do so," the report said. It added that the plane's engine two fuel cutoff switches flipped almost simultaneously, but did not say how. The preliminary report suggested no immediate action for Boeing or GE, whose engines were fitted on the aircraft. ALPA India, which represents Indian pilots at the Montreal-based International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations, has rejected any presumption of pilot error and called for a "fair, fact-based inquiry". "The pilots had passed their mandatory pre-flight breathalyser and there were no observations pertaining to their medical status," Campbell said in his memo. The commanding pilot of the Air India plane was Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, who had a total flying experience of 15,638 hours and, according to the Indian government, was also an Air India instructor. His co-pilot was Clive Kunder, 32, who had 3,403 hours of total experience. Air India has come under heightened scrutiny on multiple fronts following the crash. On July 4, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency said it would investigate budget unit Air India Express, after a Reuters report revealed the airline failed to promptly replace engine parts on an Airbus A320 as mandated, and falsified records to indicate compliance. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
