Aviation expert decodes Ahmedabad crash probe report. Here's what he said
In an interview with Reuters Video, Chan said that he believes the crash was caused by a chip malfunction. He also referred to a previously issued service bulletin from the engine manufacturer advising maintenance of a flawed chip to prevent signal loss.
'I believe the FAA has - together with GE, General Electric, the engine manufacturer - has issued a service bulletin, i.e. I believe it was about 11,000 cycles, they will have to replace the chip. And if it is not replaced or maintenance isn't done correctly, it could lead to intermittent loss of signal. Once you have a loss of signal, the fuel isn't commanded i.e. in the cut off position, then there's no fuel going to the engine,' he said.
Also Read | What AAIB preliminary report into the Ahmedabad Air India crash reveals and what it doesn't
The senior lecturer added that the chances of the pilots accidentally moving the switches into the cutoff position are close to zero.
'You have to physically sort of - not pull the pin - but if you have to pull the toggle out, then it can move to a different position. So, you do have to do it on purpose, not accidental knocking it to the wrong position. Very rarely that can happen, or close to zero,' he told Reuters video.
Also Read | Air India crash report: 49 hours of raw data retrieved from black box using US 'Golden Chassis'
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's (AAIB) preliminary report into the Air India flight 171 crash, released early Saturday, identified fuel being cut off to both engines shortly after takeoff as the cause of the disaster.
Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft operating flight AI 171 en route to London Gatwick had crashed into a medical hostel complex soon after take-off from Ahmedabad, killing 241 persons out of the 241 onboard. Another 19 people were killed on the ground.
It is the worst civil aviation disaster in over a decade globally, and the worst in India in more than 30 years.
What the report said
The AAIB report, published a month after the disaster, provided the first official account of India's worst aviation accident in decades.
The report said that the fuel control switches of the flight were found in the 'cutoff' position.
'At about 08:08:42 UTC (1:38pm, 42 seconds) and immediately thereafter, the engine 1 and engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of 01 sec,' stated the report, before stating: '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'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
2 hours ago
- Business Standard
Too early to draw conclusions on Pilots' role in A-I crash: Ex-AAIB chief
It will be too premature to draw conclusions on the role of pilots from the preliminary investigation report into the fatal crash of Air India plane last month and the final report will mention about the most probable cause for the accident, former AAIB chief Aurobindo Handa said on Sunday. A day after the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released its preliminary report into the crash that killed 260 people, he said, "We should allow AAIB to complete the investigation in a fair, unbiased and transparent manner." Handa has investigated more than 100 aircraft accidents, including the Air India Express plane crash in Kozhikode in 2020. "AAIB has done a good job. Going forward, they will now focus to find out as to why and how these fuel switches moved and whether there could have been any mechanical and/or electrical failures/malfunction," he told PTI. The report, released on Saturday, said the fuel switches of the crashed Boeing 787-8 plane's engines were cut off within a gap of one second, and later switched on. From the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why he did cut off the switch and the other pilot saying he did not do so. The report did not mention which pilot asked the question and which pilot responded. The co-pilot was Pilot Flying (PF), and the Pilot In Command (PIC) was Pilot Monitoring (PM) for the flight. "It will be too premature to draw any conclusions, including the role of one of the pilots from the AAIB's preliminary investigation report on Air India flight 171... we should allow AAIB to complete the investigation in a fair, unbiased and transparent manner," Handa said. The Pilot In Command (PIC) was 56-year-old Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and the First Officer was 32-year-old Clive Kundar. Sabharwal's flying experience with 787 was more than 8,596 hours, including 8,260 hours as PIC, while Kundar's flying experience with this type of aircraft was 1,128 hours. Kundar was pilot flying while Sabharwal was pilot monitoring for the AI 171 flight operated with the nearly 12-year-old Boeing 787-8 aircraft. According to the preliminary report, both pilots had adequate rest period prior to operating the flight. "In some quarters, especially in foreign media, there are endeavours to indicate that one of the pilots could have been at fault. Yet again, I would like to request our veteran aviators to refrain from any sort of speculation," Handa said. The AI 171, operated with a nearly 12-year-old Boeing 787-8 aircraft, flying from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick crashed into a building soon after takeoff and 260 people died. Out of the 242 people onboard the plane, only one survived. On Saturday, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said one should not jump into any conclusions on the role of pilots in the Air India plane crash and there are multiple things that need to be looked into before preparing the final investigation report.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
3 hours ago
- Business Standard
Aviation safety: Key findings from India's last three major air crashes
The last three major air crashes in India-Patna (2000), Mangaluru (2010), and Kozhikode (2020)-offer critical safety insights, with recommendations for improving aviation safety Deepak Patel New Delhi Listen to This Article The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has submitted its preliminary report on the AI171 crash that occurred near Ahmedabad airport on 12 June. Investigators will now focus on determining why the flight's fuel switches moved to cutoff mode, leading to a loss of thrust and the subsequent crash. Meanwhile, India's last three major commercial aviation accidents—Patna (2000), Mangaluru (2010), and Kozhikode (2020)—could offer critical safety lessons for the ongoing investigation. Patna Crash (2000) The crash of Alliance Air Flight CD-7412 in Patna on 17 July 2000, which killed 60 people, was the result of pilot error, according to
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
Air India crash: Too early to draw conclusions on pilots' role from initial report, says former AAIB chief
It will be too premature to draw conclusions on the role of pilots from the preliminary investigation report into the fatal crash of Air India plane last month and the final report will mention about the most probable cause for the accident, former AAIB chief Aurobindo Handa said on Sunday. A day after the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released its preliminary report into the crash that killed 260 people, he said, "We should allow AAIB to complete the investigation in a fair, unbiased and transparent manner." Handa has investigated more than 100 aircraft accidents, including the Air India Express plane crash in Kozhikode in 2020. "AAIB has done a good job. Going forward, they will now focus to find out as to why and how these fuel switches moved and whether there could have been any mechanical and/or electrical failures/malfunction," he told PTI. The report, released on Saturday, said the fuel switches of the crashed Boeing 787-8 plane's engines were cut off within a gap of one second, and later switched on. Live Events From the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why he did cut off the switch and the other pilot saying he did not do so. The report did not mention which pilot asked the question and which pilot responded. The co-pilot was Pilot Flying (PF), and the Pilot In Command (PIC) was Pilot Monitoring (PM) for the flight. "It will be too premature to draw any conclusions, including the role of one of the pilots from the AAIB's preliminary investigation report on Air India flight 171... we should allow AAIB to complete the investigation in a fair, unbiased and transparent manner," Handa said. The Pilot In Command (PIC) was 56-year-old Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and the First Officer was 32-year-old Clive Kundar. Sabharwal's flying experience with 787 was more than 8,596 hours, including 8,260 hours as PIC, while Kundar's flying experience with this type of aircraft was 1,128 hours. Kundar was pilot flying while Sabharwal was pilot monitoring for the AI 171 flight operated with the nearly 12-year-old Boeing 787-8 aircraft. According to the preliminary report, both pilots had adequate rest period prior to operating the flight. "In some quarters, especially in foreign media, there are endeavours to indicate that one of the pilots could have been at fault. Yet again, I would like to request our veteran aviators to refrain from any sort of speculation," Handa said. The AI 171, operated with a nearly 12-year-old Boeing 787-8 aircraft, flying from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick crashed into a building soon after takeoff and 260 people died. Out of the 242 people onboard the plane, only one survived. On Saturday, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said one should not jump into any conclusions on the role of pilots in the Air India plane crash and there are multiple things that need to be looked into before preparing the final investigation report.
