Deliberate human intervention reason for the Air India crash: Top safety expert
"The preliminary report by the Aircraft Accidents Investigation Bureau (AAIB), an independent investigative unit. constituted by the Civil Aviation Ministry, reveal a conversation between the cockpit crew with one of them expressing shock over the fuel supply being cut-off to the engines and questioning the other.
The report states, "In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so," The co-pilot Clive Kunder was flying the plane during take-off and he had 1000-plus hours of flying. The highly experienced First Officer Captain Sumit Sabharwal, with more than 8,000 hours of flying was in the cockpit with him.
Capt Ranganathan states, "The fuel switch does not change automatically. It needs to be moved physically from one slot to another slot and can only be done as a deliberate action."
This switch to stop fuel supply is provided as an emergency measure so that pilots can salvage the situation in case of any major fire related incidents, he explained.
"This is a case of deliberate human intervention. It was not accidental," he stressed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
4 hours ago
- First Post
'Raises more questions, doesn't give answers': Global pilots' body warns against speculations over Air India crash probe
The AAIB said the fuel switches to the engines were cut off within a gap of 1 second immediately after takeoff, causing confusion in the cockpit of the plane read more The International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations (IFALPA) has said AAIB's preliminary report into the Air India plane crash, by its very nature, raises many questions and does not provide answers and urged all parties to refrain from speculations. In its preliminary report on the Air India's Boeing 787-8 accident on June 12 that killed 260 people, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on Saturday said the fuel switches to the engines were cut off within a gap of 1 second immediately after takeoff, caused confusion in the cockpit of the plane before crashing into a building. The AI 171 was en route from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Citing cockpit voice recording, the 15-page preliminary report, released on Saturday, said one pilot asked why the switch was cut off and the other pilot responded that he did not do so. While the initial report does not provide any conclusions, there are speculations in certain quarters that a possible pilot error could be a reason for the crash. 'Whilst this preliminary report by its very nature raises many questions, it does not provide answers, and any extrapolation of its content can only be regarded as guesswork, which is not helpful to the good conduct of the investigation,' IFALPA said in a statement on July 14. According to IFALPA, the report clearly states that no safety recommendations are being provided at this stage and stresses that the federation remains committed to supporting the efforts of the AAIB of India as they work to determine the contributing factors of the accident. IFALPA claims to have 1 lakh pilots as its members from across 100 countries. On Saturday, Airline Pilots' Association of India (ALPA), an IFALPA member – said the tone and direction of the investigation suggest a bias towards pilot error and rejected this presumption as it insisted on a fair, fact-based inquiry. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In the statement on July 14, IFALPA also highlighted that a preliminary report is merely the means of communication used for the prompt dissemination of data obtained during the early stages of the investigation and only contains factual information and an indication of the progress of the investigation. Urging all parties to refrain from speculation, allow the investigation to run its full and proper course, IFALPA said everyone should avoid drawing conclusions from preliminary information. 'The victims, including the families of the crew and passengers of Air India 171, deserve our collective professionalism while the full investigation is conducted,' it added. Two pilot bodies of Air India – Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) representing narrow-body pilots and Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) representing wide-body pilots – have also warned against speculations based on the preliminary report. .
Economic Times
10 hours ago
- Economic Times
Fault within aircraft that jet fuel switch turned off automatically: Civil aviation expert on AI171 preliminary crash report
Synopsis A preliminary report on the Air India AI171 crash indicates a potential aircraft malfunction led to the tragedy, according to aviation expert Sanat Kaul. The report suggests the fuel supply to the engines was unexpectedly cut off during takeoff, causing the crash that killed 260 people. Air India flight AI-171 crash: Aviation expert analyses AAIB's preliminary report, negates captain's fault Civil aviation expert Sanat Kaul has said that the preliminary report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on the Air India flight AI171 crash suggests that "some fault within the aircraft" led to the jet fuel switches turning off automatically during takeoff, causing the tragic crash that killed 260 people, including 229 passengers, 12 crew members, and 19 people on the to ANI, Kaul said the report indicates that fuel supply to the aircraft's engines was unexpectedly cut off during takeoff."From the report I have seen, there was no other reason for the aircraft to go down but the manufacturing part; the fuel to the engine itself switched off accidentally or there was something that the pilot or the co-pilot was not aware of and the engine lost the thrust," Kaul said. Also Read | Liftoff. Cutoff. Mayday. Crash: 60 seconds that ended in disaster "It appears that the fuel was cut off on takeoff. The voice recorder makes it clear that neither the commander nor the co-pilot switched off the jet fuel switch. This is obviously some fault within the aircraft that the jet fuel switch turned off automatically," he added. Kaul also raised concerns about aircraft manufacturer Boeing. "In Boeing, it is not the first time; there were two instances of that new plane, which, after takeoff, again went down and crashed, and people died. In both these cases, it finally came out that the changes have been made in the max varieties of 737, and the pilot was not aware of the situation, and Boeing deliberately did not give training because training costs money, and they have to bear the cost," he said."There have been whistleblowers from the ones who worked in the Boeing company who said that Boeing is trying to save money on manufacturing and safety aspects," Kaul Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released the preliminary report into the tragic crash of Air India flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 aircraft, which crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12. Also Read: The unanswered questions in govt's 15-page preliminary findings into AI-171 tragedy The report outlines a harrowing sequence of events that unfolded within 90 seconds of takeoff, as both engines of the aircraft shut down unexpectedly during the initial climb, leading to a catastrophic loss of thrust and rapid data recovered from the aircraft's Enhanced Airborne Flight Recorder (EAFR) revealed that the fuel cutoff switches for both engines were inadvertently moved from RUN to CUTOFF, one after the other within a 1-second interval, at an altitude just moments after liftoff. One pilot was heard asking the other, "Why did you cut off?" to which the response was, "I did not."This uncommanded shutdown triggered the deployment of the Ram Air Turbine (RAT), and the aircraft began losing altitude almost immediately, unable to sustain powered to the AAIB, the pilots re-engaged the fuel switches in an attempt to relight both engines. Engine 1 showed signs of recovering thrust, but Engine 2 failed to stabilise. The aircraft, which had briefly reached a speed of 180 knots, was already descending and failed to regain altitude. The final distress call -- a "MAYDAY" -- was transmitted at 08:09 UTC, just seconds before the aircraft crashed into residential buildings outside the airport aircraft struck several buildings, including the BJ Medical College hostel, causing significant structural and fire damage across five structures. The Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) did not activate, and emergency services were mobilised within five minutes of the wreckage trail extended over 1,000 feet, with major components including the vertical stabiliser, engines, and landing gear found embedded in buildings and scattered across the crash aircraft, registered VT-ANB, was delivered in 2013 and had recently undergone routine maintenance. All Airworthiness Directives had been complied with, and the fuel quality was confirmed to be within specifications. There were no reported technical defects linked to the engines or flight control systems immediately before the pilot-in-command, a 56-year-old with over 15,000 flying hours, and the co-pilot, 32, with over 3,400 hours, were both fully qualified and had no recent duty irregularities or medical issues reported. ( Originally published on Jul 12, 2025 )
Time of India
10 hours ago
- Time of India
Air India 171 crash: Report ‘raises questions, offers no answers' Global Pilots' Body slams against guesswork on fuel cutoff
The International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations (IFALPA) has expressed concern over the initial report released by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) regarding the Air India AI171 crash. According to the global pilots' body, the preliminary report 'raises several questions but offers no answers.' IFALPA cautioned against interpreting the early findings as conclusive, noting that any extrapolation at this stage would be speculative and could interfere with the ongoing investigation. In a statement issued on Monday, IFALPA reiterated its support for the AAIB's efforts and emphasised that the families of those who lost their lives 'deserve our collective professionalism.' It highlighted that the purpose of a preliminary report is to present early factual data and should not be used to form final conclusions. Fuel cutoff and cockpit confusion documented in report The AAIB report into the June 12 crash stated that both engine fuel switches of the London-bound Air India flight were turned off, leading to engine shutdowns. It further noted that cockpit voice recordings captured a moment of confusion, with one pilot asking the other why the fuel was cut. The response from the second pilot was that he did not do it. The report also confirmed that fuel samples collected from airport bowsers and storage tanks were tested at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation laboratory and were found to be satisfactory. The crash occurred just seconds after the plane took off from Ahmedabad airport and struck the residential quarters of doctors at BJ Medical College, killing 241 of the 242 onboard and several people on the ground, including nine students and their family members. No safety recommendations, IFALPA urges caution The preliminary report did not include any safety recommendations. IFALPA underlined that this is in line with ICAO Annex 13, which mandates the release of such reports within 30 days of the incident but does not expect safety conclusions this early in the process. 'Whilst this preliminary report by its very nature raises many questions, it does not provide answers,' the statement said. The association also urged all parties to refrain from speculation, stressing the importance of allowing the investigation to reach its final stage without outside interference. Debate grows, experts urge patience Following the release of the report, aviation expert Captain Mohan Ranganathan speculated on NDTV that the incident may have been caused deliberately, citing the manual nature of the fuel switch mechanism. However, several former pilots and aviation analysts strongly opposed this view, stating it is premature to draw such conclusions without a full report. AAIB chief Aurobindo Handa also advised against hasty interpretations, stating that it would be inappropriate to assign blame until the investigation is investigations continue, global aviation bodies urge restraint and professionalism until all facts of the Air India crash are fully known.
