Air India crash preliminary report brings little comfort for victims' families
The disaster left behind scorched buildings and devastated lives.
On Saturday, India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau released its preliminary report, confirming that both fuel control switches were moved to "cut off" just seconds after take-off, shutting down the engines and causing the Boeing 787 to lose thrust.
But the report does not explain how or why the switches were moved, offering little clarity or comfort to the families left behind.
In a narrow alley in Ahmedabad, 32-year-old Ravi Thakor sits on a wooden cot inside his modest home, scrolling through old videos of his daughter playing.
Today would have been her second birthday.
Instead of celebrating, Mr Thakor is mourning his daughter Aadhya and his mother Sarla Ben, who were both killed when the plane crashed into the BJ Medical College hostel mess where she worked.
"I learnt from social media that both engines shut down and there was something wrong with the fuel," he told the ABC.
The preliminary report said both fuel switches were cut off just seconds after take-off, then switched back on, but the engines never recovered enough power before the plane slammed into the ground.
Cockpit audio captured one pilot asking the other why the fuel had been cut off, and the other replying that he hadn't done it.
Mr Thakor says the findings are confusing and only deepen his questions.
"There will be many like us who are not that educated and don't understand what has been written [in the report]," he said.
Mr Thakor says the trauma of that night still haunts him.
"A whole iron cupboard melted in the area my mum used to cook in. Imagine what would happen to a person," he said.
"We have seen the charred bodies with our eyes. We have felt it. I can still smell the stench; it's in my nose. How would it have been for them?"
Not far from Mr Thakor's home, another family is grappling with the same grief.
BS Saiyad lost his brother Inayat, as well as Inayat's wife and daughter, in the crash. He, too, has read the preliminary findings, and finds them contradictory.
"It seems like the pilot is being blamed. But the way the report is set out, it also looks like the pilot is innocent," Mr Saiyad said.
"If this investigation is to be done transparently, there can't be any prejudice."
Aviation experts say the design of the fuel cut-off switches makes an accidental error unlikely.
Guard brackets prevent the switches from being knocked or moved into the off position by mistake, and a stop-lock mechanism requires pilots to lift the switch before changing its position.
The report outlined the sequence of events: the fuel switches moved to cut-off almost simultaneously, power was lost, the switches were reset, but by then the aircraft was too low to recover.
As for a possible mechanical fault, the AAIB says there is no evidence at this stage to recommend changes for Boeing or GE, the engine manufacturer.
The 56-year-old commanding pilot, Sumeet Sabharwal, and his 32-year-old co-pilot, Clive Kunder, had a combined 9,000 hours of flight time on the 787. Both were rested and breath-tested before take-off.
Air India says it's cooperating fully with the investigation.
The Indian civil aviation minister has urged the public to be patient.
"Let's not jump to any conclusions at this stage," Ram Mohan Naidu said.
"Let us wait for the final report."
As investigators continue analysing flight data, wreckage, post-mortem reports and witness statements, the final report could take months.
For families like the Thakors and the Saiyads, however, the preliminary findings offer little solace.
"Sometimes I dream about calling Inayat and stopping him from leaving."
On what should have been a day of celebration, Mr Thakor spent his daughter's second birthday looking at her photos and videos, still asking why she had to die.
"We thought this year we'd take her to the temple … let her grandparents bless her," he said quietly.
"But now, she's gone."
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