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Arab News
2 days ago
- General
- Arab News
Air India crash: Pilot groups push back against human error narrative
NEW DELHI: Associations of Indian pilots are rejecting claims that last month's Air India plane crash that killed 260 people was due to human error, after a preliminary investigation sparked speculation implicating the flight crew. The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed less than a minute after taking off from Ahmedabad airport in the western Indian state of Gujarat on June 12. A report released over the weekend by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said that seconds after take-off, both of the plane's fuel-control switches moved to the position stopping fuel from the engines. It did not specify who turned off the switches, only citing the cockpit voice recording, in which 'one of the pilots is heard asking the other why he cut off,' while 'the other pilot responded that he did not do so.' The Indian Commercial Pilots Association and the Airline Pilots' Association of India have issued statements after the release of the initial findings — and the first media and online reactions to it — rejecting speculative narratives and presumptions over the guilt of the pilots. Capt. Kishore Chinta, an ALPA member and accident investigator, told Arab News that both associations have 'raised red flags on the selective release of information' by the AAIB, which has 'left the scope of ambiguity for people to jump to conclusions' and for the media to spin narratives. 'We are left defending those pilots who are not there to defend themselves,' he said. 'The Western media has been painting them as if they actually committed suicide-murder.' The London-bound flight was carrying 242 people — 230 passengers, two pilots and 10 crew members. Only one person, sitting in an emergency exit seat, survived the crash. Another 18 people were killed on the ground as the aircraft fell on a B. J. Medical College and hostel for students and resident doctors of the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital. Investigators at the crash site recovered both components of the black box — the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, days after the crash. The Ministry of Civil Aviation said at the time that the final report was expected within three months. The early release of preliminary findings has shaken the Indian aviation community, for which it was unacceptable that experienced pilots who have flown thousands of hours would have turned off the fuel supply. 'Definitely a malfunction caused the disaster — poor maintenance or a hardware/software glitch,' said Sandeep Jain, an Indian aviator based in the US. 'Dead pilots are always the easiest target. They don't bite back. No litigation, no shareholder value erosion.' The Federation of Indian Pilots is planning to raise the consequences of the preliminary report with the government. 'We will be taking it up with the government no doubt. We will not let it go quietly. The report should not be open-ended,' Capt. C.S. Randhawa, the federation's president, told Arab News. 'It is inconclusive. So many things are not answered properly. The report does not say that the pilots have moved the fuel control switches, that is why it is inconclusive, and it is leading to speculations.'
The Independent
2 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Air India crash latest: India orders airlines to check Boeing fuel switches after report on Ahmedabad tragedy
India's aviation regulator has ordered airlines to inspect fuel switch locks on Boeing aircraft after a report on the Air India Flight 171 crash showed both engines lost fuel seconds after takeoff. The US aviation regulator has insisted the type of fuel switch installed on the Air India Boeing 787-8 was safe amid a growing row over who is to blame for the deadly crash. A preliminary investigation into the disaster noted a US aviation regulator 2018 bulletin which recommended airlines inspect the fuel switch locking mechanism of Boeing planes. The US FAA said its 2018 advisory "was based on reports that the fuel control switches were installed with the locking feature disengaged" but added this did not make the planes unsafe. India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said Air India did not do this at the time, while also suggesting human error might have been to blame for the crash which killed 260 people on 12 June. It found that switches controlling fuel flow to the jet's two engines had been moved from 'run' to the 'cut-off' position shortly after take off to London Gatwick. The Indian Commercial Pilots' Association said the crew "acted in line with their training and responsibilities under challenging conditions and the pilots shouldn't be vilified based on conjecture". Key questions after Air India flight 171 crash report How did both engine fuel control switches – designed with locking mechanisms to prevent accidental movement – get flipped to the 'cutoff' position within seconds of takeoff? Could a mechanical malfunction override the spring-loaded safety design, or was it human error? Why were the switches later found back in the 'run' position at the crash site – were the pilots trying to recover engine power too late? What exactly happened in the cockpit during those final 32 seconds, and why did one pilot ask the other, 'Why did you cut it off?' Is there evidence of confusion, miscommunication, or a systems failure? Can such a catastrophic loss of thrust occur again, despite multiple safety barriers meant to prevent it? Maroosha Muzaffar15 July 2025 05:00 India's aviation regulator orders airlines to inspect fuel switch locks on Boeing India's aviation regulator has ordered airlines to inspect fuel switch locks on Boeing aircraft after a report on the Air India Flight 171 crash showed both engines lost fuel seconds after takeoff. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation issued the order after several Indian and foreign airlines began inspecting the fuel switch locking mechanisms on their own. The prelim report into the Air India flight 171 has triggered debate over pilot error versus mechanical failure. While Air India urged caution, pilot unions condemned speculation, especially around suicide. A 2018 FAA advisory had flagged fuel switch lock issues on some Boeing models. Maroosha Muzaffar15 July 2025 04:52 What the preliminary report reveals about the Air India crash The cockpit voice recorder from Air India Flight 171 has shed light on the tense final moments before the crash, with one pilot reportedly asking the other, 'Why did you cut it off?' – a reference to the fuel control switches that were somehow flipped to the 'cut-off' position just after takeoff, causing both engines to lose power. The preliminary report stops short of assigning blame, but the exchange has reopened the debate around pilot error and mechanical fault. Even the insinuation that a pilot's error could be behind the crash has angered the community. An Indian pilots' association rejected the presumption of pilot error in the Ahmedabad crash. The Airline Pilots' Association of India (ALPA-India), which represents Indian pilots at the Montreal-based International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations, called for "fair, fact-based inquiry." "The pilots body must now be made part of the probe, at least as observers," ALPA India president Sam Thomas said on Sunday. Maroosha Muzaffar15 July 2025 04:30 Who were the pilots of doomed Air India flight as preliminary report brings scrutiny? Captain Sumeet Sabharwal: Sabharwal, 56, started his aviation career in the early 1990s and logged more than 15,000 hours of flying experience. Joining Air India in 1994, he went on to become 'line training captain', a role to train and guide co-pilots during live flights. He had obtained clearances to fly as pilot-in-command on several aircraft, including the Boeing 787 and 777 and the Airbus A310. First officer Clive Kunder: Unlike Captain Sabharwal, first officer Cliver Kunder, 32, was at the beginning of a promising aviation career, with over 3,400 hours of flight time to his name. Kunder grew up in Mumbai and was living alone in the Goregaon area. According to Indian media reports citing relatives, he had dreamt of flying since childhood. He began his journey as a pilot in 2012 and joined Air India in 2017. Read more about them here: Who were the pilots of doomed Air India flight? One pilot was nearing retirement while the other just beginning his aviation career Maroosha Muzaffar15 July 2025 04:00 What did the Air India CEO say in internal memo? The probe into last month's crash of an Air India plane in Ahmedabad is far from over and it is unwise to jump to any premature conclusions, airline CEO Campbell Wilson said in an internal memo on Monday after the release of a preliminary report by investigators. 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. Mr 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. Alexander Butler15 July 2025 03:00 Recap: Families of victims left questioning how the tragedy took place The findings have left some families of victims questioning how the tragedy took place, and if it was avoidable. Badasab Syed, 59, who lost his brother, 49-year-old IT professional Inayat Syed, his sister-in-law, and their two children in the crash, said he has just been left with more questions. He told the BBC: 'The report mentions the pilots discussing who turned off fuel and a possible issue with the fuel control switch. We don't know what that means? Was it avoidable?' Ayushi Christian, who married Lawrence Christian in 2023 before migrating to the UK, said her husband was in India because he had been performing the last rites of his father. He was on the AI 171 flight to return home to the UK. Following the release of an initial report into the incident, Ms Christian told the BBC: 'It has been one month since the crash, but no action has been taken by the government so far. [The] preliminary investigation report has come out today. Action should be taken against those responsible for the incident.' Alexander Butler15 July 2025 02:00 Not easy to 'accidentally' cut off fuel switches, expert says on Air India crash The fuel switches that were cut off before the Air India plane crash are the kind used on every flight, and designed so that this cannot easily "accidentally" happen, an aviation expert has said. The fuel switches are used at the end of every flight and in emergency scenarios such as a fire, director of aerospace and aviation at Cranfield University, Professor Graham Braithwaite said, adding that pilots would generally run through a checklist before turning them off. He said: "For obvious reasons, the two switches are a distance apart, so not a huge distance, but enough that you couldn't accidentally switch two when you're trying to switch one. "So it's not like the lights in your house, where they're right next to each other, so there is some space between them. "They're in that centre console, so that's in between the two pilots, so they can each reach them with the same ease." Alexander Butler15 July 2025 01:00 Recap: South Korea set to order airlines to check Boeing jet fuel switches South Korea is preparing to order all airlines in the country that operate Boeing jets to examine fuel switches in the focus of an investigation of a deadly Air India crash that killed 260 people. Fuel switch locks have come under scrutiny after a mention of a 2018 advisory from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in a preliminary report into last month's crash of Air India's Boeing 787-8 jet. A spokesperson for the South Korean transport ministry said the checks were in line with a 2018 advisory from the FAA, but did not give a timeline for inspections. Boeing referred Reuters' questions to the FAA, which was not immediately available to comment outside regular hours. Alexander Butler14 July 2025 23:00 Who were the pilots of doomed Air India flight as preliminary report brings scrutiny? Who were the pilots of doomed Air India flight? One pilot was nearing retirement while the other just beginning his aviation career Alexander Butler14 July 2025 22:00 Simon Calder answers your air travel safety questions – from Boeing worries to the truth about budget airlines Simon Calder on air travel safety – from Boeing to budget airlines
The Wire
3 days ago
- The Wire
Ahmedabad Crash: Pilots' Bodies Decry 'Tone' of Preliminary Report, Insinuation of Pilot Error
'To casually suggest pilot suicide in the absence of verified evidence is a gross violation of ethical reporting and a disservice to the dignity of the profession,' Indian Commercial Pilots Association said. Wreckage of the crashed Air India plane in Ahmedabad. Photo: PTI New Delhi: The Indian Commercial Pilots Association is among pilots' bodies which have condemned insinuation of pilot error in the aftermath of the release of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's preliminary investigation report into the June 12 crash of Air India flight AI 171. The preliminary report put the toll at 260 lives, including 241 of the 242 people on board, including the two pilots. A key point in the report that many have latched on to is that the two engine fuel cutoff switches transitioned from 'RUN' to 'CUTOFF' position one after another with a time gap of less than a second. In the cockpit voice recording, the findings revealed, one of the pilots can be heard asking the other why he cut off the fuel, to which the other pilot responded that he did not. There is no detail on the pilots' conversation before and after these lines. As noted by Reuters, it did not identify which remarks were made by the flight's captain and which by the first officer, nor which pilot transmitted "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday" just before the crash. The Indian Commercial Pilots Association has around 1,000 pilots employed in scheduled airlines in India. It called the suggestions that pilot suicide was the reason behind the crash 'reckless and unfounded', reports Indian Express, in addition to being 'irresponsible' and 'deeply insensitive'. The association called upon media organisations and commentators to act with "restraint, empathy, and respect for due process." It noted that the crew of the plane deserved support, not "vilification based on conjecture." 'To casually suggest pilot suicide in the absence of verified evidence is a gross violation of ethical reporting and a disservice to the dignity of the profession," it said. The plane was commanded by 56-year-0ld Sumeet Sabharwal whose flying experience comprised 15,638 hours, and 32-year-old Clive Kunder who had 3,403 hours of experience. The Airline Pilots' Association of India, has also criticised the report for its 'tone and direction' that suggested 'bias towards pilot error'. "ALPA-I categorically rejects this presumption and insists on a fair, fact-based inquiry,' ALPA-I president Sam Thomas said, according to the Express report. The pilots' body also reiterated its request to be included 'at the very least, as observers' in the air crash investigation. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Pilot groups reject claims of human error in Air India crash
Two major commercial pilots' associations have rejected claims human error caused an Air India crash that killed 260 people after a preliminary investigation report found the plane's engine fuel switches had been turned off. Pilot groups reject claims of human error in Air India crash The report, issued Saturday by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau , did not offer any conclusions or apportion blame for the June 12 disaster, but indicated that one pilot asked the other why he cut off fuel, and the second pilot responded that he had not. No more detail about the cockpit dialogue between the pilots was revealed. The Indian Commercial Pilots Association said it was "deeply disturbed by speculative narratives... particularly the reckless and unfounded insinuation of pilot suicide." "There is absolutely no basis for such a claim at this stage," it said in a statement Sunday, adding, "it is deeply insensitive to the individuals and families involved." "To casually suggest pilot suicide without verified evidence is a gross violation of ethical reporting and a disservice to the dignity of the profession," it said. The initial probe finding sparked speculation by several independent aviation experts that deliberate or inadvertant pilot action may have caused the London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner to crash soon after takeoff from Ahmedabad in western India. The ICPA was referring to a number of aviation experts suggesting engine fuel control switches can only be moved deliberately and manually. The Airline Pilots' Association of India , another pilots' body with 800 members, also accused the probe agency of "secrecy" surrounding the investigation, saying "suitably qualified personnel" were not involved in it. "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," ALPA India president Sam Thomas said in a statement issued on Saturday. ALPA which claims 100,000 members worldwide also requested to the AAIB that it be included as "observers so as to provide the requisite transparency in the investigations". The crash killed all but one of the 242 people on board as well as 19 people on the ground. pzb/mtp BOEING This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
