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Hindustan Times
14-07-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Fuel switch locks safe, claim US FAA, Boeing amid Air India crash probe: Report
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing have privately issued notifications that the fuel switch locks on Boeing planes are safe, a document seen by Reuters showed and four sources with knowledge of the matter said. 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 AAIB report said.(PTI) The FAA's Continued Airworthiness Notification on July 11 came after a preliminary report into Air India's Boeing 787-8 crash, which killed 260 people last month, raised questions over engine fuel cutoff switches. The FAA's notification to Civil Aviation Authorities, seen by Reuters, said: 'although the fuel control switch design, including the locking feature, is similar on various Boeing airplane models, the FAA does not consider this issue to be an unsafe condition that would warrant an Airworthiness Directive on any Boeing airplane models, including the Model 787.' Also read: Air India crash report: 49 hours of raw data retrieved from black box using US 'Golden Chassis' When asked for comment, the FAA said it did not have anything to add beyond the notification. Boeing also referred to the FAA notification in a Multi-Operator-Message sent to the airlines in the past few days, which said the planemaker is not recommending any action, two of the sources with direct knowledge said. When asked for comment, Boeing referred Reuters' questions to the FAA. The preliminary investigation report into the crash by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), referred to a 2018 FAA advisory, which recommended, but did not mandate, operators of several Boeing models, including the 787, to inspect the locking feature of the fuel cutoff switches to ensure it could not be moved accidentally. The report said Air India had said it had not carried out the FAA's suggested inspections as the FAA 2018 advisory was not a mandate. But it also said maintenance records showed that the throttle control module, which includes the fuel switches, was replaced in 2019 and 2023 on the plane involved in the crash. The report noted "all applicable airworthiness directives and alert service bulletins were complied on the aircraft as well as engines." ALPA India, which represents Indian pilots at the Montreal-based International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations, in a statement on Saturday rejected the presumption of pilot error and called for a "fair, fact-based inquiry." "The pilots body must now be made part of the probe, at least as observers," ALPA India President Sam Thomas told Reuters on Sunday. ALPA India, in a letter posted on X, said the preliminary investigation report referred to the 2018 FAA advisory "concerning the fuel control switch gates, which indicates a potential equipment malfunction." 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 said fuel switches had almost simultaneously flipped from run to cutoff just after takeoff. The report did not say how the switches could have flipped during the flight. Two U.S. safety experts said on Saturday they backed ALPA India's request to be observers in the probe, but said the investigation report did not suggest a bias toward pilot error. John Cox, a pilot and former ALPA U.S. representative, said AAIB's report seemed objective and fair.
Hindustan Times
13-07-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Aviation expert decodes Ahmedabad crash probe report. Here's what he said
Marco Chan, senior lecturer at Buckinghamshire New University and former pilot, has said that the preliminary report into the crash of the Air India Ahmedabad to London flight on June 12 points towards 'a chip malfunction'. Wreckage of the crashed Air India plane being lifted by a crane, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on June 14.(PTI) 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'.
Time of India
12-07-2025
- Time of India
Decoded black box from Air India 171 crash exposes cockpit chaos, but pilots' union says ‘we strongly object to this line....'
The preliminary investigation into the Air India Boeing 787 crash has brought renewed attention to the role of Enhanced Airborne Flight Recorders (EAFRs), commonly referred to as 'black boxes.' These critical devices have helped shed light on the crash sequence, even as concerns are being raised over how the probe is being conducted. What the black boxes recorded The black boxes recovered from the crash site recorded both flight data and cockpit audio. One of the devices was found on June 13, a day after the crash, heavily damaged and lying atop a building. It showed signs of impact and heat damage, with burnt connectors and exposed wires. The second recorder was recovered three days later near another building, still attached to its equipment shelf. Both devices were transferred to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) lab in Delhi on June 24. Using an identical EAFR unit known as a 'Golden Chassis' and download cables provided by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), investigators were able to retrieve the stored data. According to the AAIB, the black boxes contained about 49 hours of flight data covering six flights, including the crash. The cockpit voice recorder had captured two hours of audio, including the final moments of the doomed flight. ALPA India reacts to the investigation process Following the release of the preliminary report, the Airline Pilots' Association of India (ALPA India) voiced its concerns about how the investigation is being handled. In a public statement, ALPA's president Captain Sam Thomas said the union was 'surprised at the secrecy surrounding these investigations' and alleged that 'suitably qualified personnel were not taken on board for the probe.' The union criticised what it described as a premature presumption of pilot error. 'We feel that the investigation is being driven in a direction presuming the guilt of pilots, and we strongly object to this line of thought,' the statement read. ALPA India also called on the authorities to allow the union to join the investigation process, even if only in the role of observers, to help ensure greater transparency. Audio snippet from the cockpit adds to confusion A key moment from the cockpit voice recording was highlighted in the preliminary report. Just seconds after take-off, one pilot is heard asking the other, 'Why did you do the cut off?'—referring to the transition of both engine fuel switches from RUN to CUTOFF, which led to fuel starvation. The second pilot replied, 'I didn't.' The report does not clarify which of the two pilots made each statement. This uncertainty, coupled with the union's claims, has further complicated the public perception of the investigation's fairness. Final words As the investigation moves forward, the role of flight data, cockpit audio, and transparent processes will remain crucial in identifying the cause of the crash. While the black boxes have revealed significant details, questions about the accountability process and participation of stakeholders like ALPA India continue to be raised.
Time of India
12-07-2025
- Time of India
Air India report: Flight recorders damaged, hold two hours of audio of crash
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau 's (AAIB) preliminary findings on the fatal Air India Boeing 787-8 crash reveal that the flight recordings were left Air India flight was equipped with two Enhanced Airborne Flight Recorders (EAFR), fitted at two locations, one in the tail section at STA 1847 and other in the forward section. The two EAFRs are similar in construction and record a combined data stream of digital flight data and cockpit voice information, with both stored on the same device."Both EAFRs were transported from Ahmedabad to AAIB's facility at New Delhi on 24th June 2025. Like various other cases where the data from damaged flight recorders was downloaded by AAIB after sourcing 'Golden Chassis' and relevant download cables from the DGCA and other Accident Investigation Authorities, in this case the 'Golden Chassis' (Identical EAFR unit) and Download cables required to download data from EAFR were sourced from NTSB, USA. The items arrived on 23rd June 2025," said the report."The download from the FWD EAFR was attempted at the AAIB Lab on 24th June 2025. The CPM was retrieved from the EAFR and found to be in good condition. The CPM was mounted on the Golden Chassis and the raw data was downloaded from the EAFR. The downloaded flight data contained approximately 49 hours of flight data and 6 flights, including the event flight. The recovered audio was two hours in length and captured the event. Initial Analysis of the recorded audio and flight data has been done. The aft EAFR was substantially damaged and could not be downloaded through conventional means. The CPM was opened to inspect the memory card. The damage was extensive," added the aft EAFR receives electrical power from the aircraft's main electrical system. The forward EAFR contains an additional power source from the Recorder Independent Power Supply (RIPS), a system that provides electrical power to the forward EAFR in the event of a power or bus loss on the aircraft. This allows the forward EAFR to continue to record available digital flight data, and voice data from the Cockpit Area Microphone (CAM), even after power is lost to other aircraft systems.
