Air India crash probe far from over, says CEO after preliminary report, Asia News
The memo, reviewed by Reuters, comes after the report depicted confusion in the cockpit shortly before the crash of the Boeing Dreamliner that killed 260 people. It said the plane's engine fuel cutoff switches flipped almost simultaneously and starved the engines of fuel.
"The release of the preliminary report marked the point at which we, along with the world, began receiving additional details about what took place. Unsurprisingly, it provided both greater clarity and opened additional questions." the memo said.
Wilson 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 Boeing 787 Dreamliner bound for London from the Indian city of Ahmedabad began to lose thrust and sink shortly after takeoff, according to the report released by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB).
The memo said the preliminary report found no mechanical or maintenance faults and that all required maintenance had been carried out.
The preliminary report, released on Saturday, suggested no immediate action for Boeing or GE, whose engines were fitted on to the aircraft.
The AAIB, an office under India's civil aviation ministry, is leading the probe into the crash, which killed all but one of the 242 people on board and 19 others on the ground.
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.
ALPA India, which represents Indian pilots at the Montreal-based International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations, rejected the presumption of pilot error in the Ahmedabad crash and called for a "fair, fact-based enquiry."
"The pilots body must now be made part of the probe, at least as observers," ALPA India President Sam Thomas told Reuters on Sunday.
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Straits Times
15 minutes ago
- Straits Times
‘Okay for us to get wet, but not the newspapers': Man who ran delivery business for over 40 years
SINGAPORE – For most of his life, centenarian Abdul Gafoore placed his family before all else. It was why he left Tamil Nadu for Singapore in 1946 at the age of 22, to earn money to send home to his parents and four siblings. It was also why he delayed marriage until he was 36, after his brothers and sisters were settled. Mr Abdul, who will turn 101 in August 2025 , ran a newspaper delivery business and a provision store for more than 40 years. They brought him stability, but demanded long hours and discipline. 'Rain or shine, the newspapers had to be delivered by 7am every day. If it rained, it was okay for us to get wet, but not the newspapers,' says Mr Abdul in Tamil, with sons Mohamed Ali Gafoor and Ismail Gafoor translating . 'That's how demanding the newspaper industry was,' he says. 'If you were not feeling well, somehow you had to finish the job, then take care of your body.' Even the compensation from injuries sustained while on the job went to his wife. In 1980, a Japanese tourist opened the door of a taxi and accidentally hit Mr Abdul as he rode past on his motorbike stacked high with newspapers. The tourist gave him $100, which Mr Abdul used to buy a gold coin for his wife. She still has it today. He and his wife of 65 years, Madam Maharunnisabi, 79, have a daughter and five sons, 13 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. One son, Mr Burhan Gafoor, 59, is Singapore's ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations. Another, Mr Ismail, 61, is co-founder and chief executive of real estate giant PropNex. Mr Abdul's first job as a grocery shop assistant in Joo Chiat earned him $30 a month. 'In those days, $30 was big money,' Mr Ismail says. 'He would save up two months of pay, convert it to Indian rupees and send back 100 rupees every two months to his family.' Mr Abdul's journey in newspaper vending is deeply interwoven with Singapore's media history. In 1955 , he took over the distributorship of about 100 newspapers from a vendor who had returned to India. With savings and a few hundred dollars borrowed from moneylenders, he opened a kiosk in Nemesu Avenue in Upper Thomson to sell newspapers, magazines, drinks and daily necessities. He also made deliveries. Within two years, he was selling 300 newspapers daily. In 1960, he married Madam Maharunnisabi. As their family grew, he started a provision shop at Block 56 Lengkok Bahru in 1972 to supplement his income. His routine was relentless. He rose at 3am to collect newspapers – The Straits Times, Chinese dailies and Tamil papers – from locations like Cecil Street, Robinson Road and Times House in Kim Seng Road. He delivered in Sembawang until the early 1960s, and then in Bukit Merah until 2000. His sons helped him do 4am delivery runs. 'By 6am, we would go to school but our father would continue distributing until 7am,' recalls Mr Ismail. Mr Abdul would man his provision shop until 11am, when he would return the previous day's unsold newspapers to Times House, settle payments, and collect afternoon publications New Nation and later The Singapore Monitor to be distributed. By the time he was done at about 2pm, he would head home for a quick lunch and an hour's nap before returning to his provision shop by 4.30pm, close up at 9pm, count the day's earnings, get home by 10pm, have a late dinner and be asleep by 10.30pm. 'This was his routine 364 days a year until he retired,' says Mr Ismail. The only holiday was on Boxing Day when there was no publication of newspapers. When he started, Mr Abdul earned a 20 per cent commission on the 100 papers he distributed, which came to about $4 a day or $120 a month. As his distribution rose to 300 papers a day, he hired help and earned about $200 net a month. Mr Abdul retired in 2000 at 76, handing the business to his son, Mr Mohamed. At the time, newspaper subscriptions and circulation were still strong, declining only after 2010, with the rise of digital media. Mr Mohamed grew the business from 1,000 to between 2,500 and 2,700 newspapers a day. But in 2015, he sold the business due to manpower shortages. 'My children were grown up and had no time to help with the business,' says Mr Mohamed, 63, who is now associate branch director at PropNex. His seven part-time deliverymen at the time worked from 4am to 7am. 'It wasn't easy finding people willing to do this work.' Mr Abdul with his wife, Madam Maharunnisabi, and their sons, PropNex associate branch director Mohamed Ali Gafoor (left) and PropNex co-founder and chief executive Ismail Gafoor. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH One change the family welcomed was the decentralisation of newspaper distribution. Instead of hundreds of vendors converging at a few central locations to collect the papers, newspapers from Singapore Press Holdings' (SPH) Jurong printing plant were dispatched to hubs across the island. This made route planning more efficient and reduced delivery delays. 'In the early years, hundreds of vendors would rush to the one or two central collection points. Everyone wanted to be the first to collect papers because they didn't want to be late with deliveries,' says Mr Abdul. Mr Mohamed's hub was at Delta Swimming Complex. 'Only about 10 vendors picked up papers there. It was so much easier,' he says. Mr Abdul also built a friendship with SPH's first chief executive, Mr Lyn Holloway, who died in 2019 at 90. They met in the mid-1970s when Mr Abdul was invited to Mr Holloway's home near Orchard Road as a representative of the news vendors. Mr Abdul voiced vendors' concerns, especially delays in printing, which disrupted deliveries. 'Everyone wanted to deliver by 7am. Everyone had a second job to get to, or school to attend. Every time there was a disruption in printing, the vendors would squabble over who got priority in getting the papers,' says Mr Ismail. Another issue Mr Abdul raised was commission, especially when SPH launched new weekly magazines or additional supplements requiring extra delivery runs. Before going on a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1982, he invited Mr Holloway to a reception. Though Mr Holloway couldn't attend, he sent Mr Abdul a set of Times Publishing cups. One remains intact and Mr Abdul still uses it for his morning coffee. 'My family is thankful to SPH and congratulates The Straits Times on 180 years of business,' says Mr Abdul. News vending made a difference to many Indian immigrants who didn't have much hope when they arrived in the 1940s, he adds. 'It was a catalyst that made a difference in our lives and those of our loved ones back in India.' The Gafoor family views the newspaper business as a proud legacy. It also enabled them to give back to Mr Abdul's home town of Kodavasal in Tamil Nadu. Mr Abdul donated his entire wealth to social causes there, transforming his 45,000 sq ft home into a religious school for women with more than 300 students, and funding a mosque, community hall and clinic. 'My younger brother Burhan was still delivering newspapers in 1988, the same year he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,' Mr Ismail adds, chuckling. 'We were all newspaper boys.'
Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Straits Times
EU threatens countermeasures over US tariffs, Trump says he is open to talks
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Trump stepped up his trade war on Saturday, saying he would impose a 30% tariff on most imports from the EU and Mexico next month, following similar warnings for other countries including Asian economic powerhouses Japan and South Korea. The EU has so far held off on retaliatory measures to avoid a spiralling tit-for-tat escalation while there remains a chance of negotiating an improved outcome. But EU ministers emerging from a meeting in Brussels on Monday appeared closer to striking back. Speaking at a news conference following the meeting, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen called the tariff threat "absolutely unacceptable." EU Trade Chief Maros Sefcovic said he believed there was "still a potential to continue the negotiations" but voiced frustration with Washington's failure to agree to a deal with its largest trading partner. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. 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His initial "Liberation Day" tariff announcement in April, which set a baseline tariff of 10% on all imports and higher duties on certain products or countries, raised fears of global supply chain disruptions, sending shockwaves through markets. But subsequent U-turns and delays, including a 90-day pause on most duties aimed at allowing time for trade deal negotiations, have left investors largely inured to Trump's chaotic policy rollouts. European stocks fell on Monday, while U.S. indices were little changed in response to the latest salvo. European autos and alcohol stocks were among those hardest hit. SCRAMBLE FOR DEALS The looming August 1 deadline has set off a scramble by governments around the world to seal trade agreements. South Korea's top trade envoy said on Monday it may be possible to strike a deal "in principle" by the deadline and signalled that Seoul may be open to allowing the U.S. greater access to its agriculture markets, local media reported. 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Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Straits Times
China steps in as US pulls back from diplomacy, report says
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