Latest news with #Sabharwal
The Advertiser
5 hours ago
- General
- The Advertiser
Too soon to decide India crash cause, investigators say
India's aircraft accident investigation body says it's too early to reach any definite conclusions on what led to the deadly Air India plane crash in June that killed 260 people. "We urge both the public and the media to refrain from spreading premature narratives that risk undermining the integrity of the investigative process," Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) chief GVG Yugandhar said, adding the investigation is still not complete. The AAIB statement comes after the Wall Street Journal reported that a cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots of the flight indicated the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane's engines. The newspaper cited people familiar with US officials' early assessment of evidence. The AAIB's preliminary report on the crash on Saturday said one pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel and "the other pilot responded that he did not do so". It did not identify who made those remarks. The two pilots in the flight deck were Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder, who had total flying experience of 15,638 hours and 3403 hours, respectively. Kunder, who was flying the plane, asked Sabharwal why he moved the fuel switches to the "cutoff" position seconds after lifting off the runway, according to the Journal report. The newspaper did not say if there was any evidence showing Sabharwal did move the switches, beyond the verbal exchange it cited. But it quoted US pilots who have read the Indian authorities' report as saying that Kunder, the pilot actively flying, likely would have had his hands full pulling back on the Dreamliner's controls at that stage of the flight. The AAIB's preliminary report said the fuel switches had switched from "run" to "cutoff" a second apart just after takeoff. Almost immediately after the plane lifted off the ground, closed-circuit TV footage showed a backup energy source called a ram air turbine had deployed, indicating a loss of power from the engines. The London-bound plane began to lose thrust, and after reaching a height of 200 metres, the jet started to sink. The fuel switches for both engines were turned back to "run", and the plane automatically tried restarting the engines, the report said. But it was too low and too slow to be able to recover, aviation safety expert John Nance told Reuters. The plane clipped some trees and a chimney before crashing in a fireball into a building on a nearby medical college campus, the report said, killing 19 people on the ground and 241 of the 242 on board the 787. In an internal memo on Monday, Air India chief Campbell Wilson said the preliminary report found no mechanical or maintenance faults and that all required maintenance had been carried out. The AAIB's preliminary report had no safety recommendations for Boeing or engine manufacturer GE. After the report was released, the US Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing 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. The US National Transportation Safety Board has been assisting with the Air India investigation and its chair Jennifer Homendy has been fully briefed on all aspects, a board spokesperson said. "The safety of international air travel depends on learning as much as we can from these rare events so that industry and regulators can improve aviation safety," Homendy said in a statement. "And if there are no immediate safety issues discovered, we need to know that as well." India's aircraft accident investigation body says it's too early to reach any definite conclusions on what led to the deadly Air India plane crash in June that killed 260 people. "We urge both the public and the media to refrain from spreading premature narratives that risk undermining the integrity of the investigative process," Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) chief GVG Yugandhar said, adding the investigation is still not complete. The AAIB statement comes after the Wall Street Journal reported that a cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots of the flight indicated the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane's engines. The newspaper cited people familiar with US officials' early assessment of evidence. The AAIB's preliminary report on the crash on Saturday said one pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel and "the other pilot responded that he did not do so". It did not identify who made those remarks. The two pilots in the flight deck were Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder, who had total flying experience of 15,638 hours and 3403 hours, respectively. Kunder, who was flying the plane, asked Sabharwal why he moved the fuel switches to the "cutoff" position seconds after lifting off the runway, according to the Journal report. The newspaper did not say if there was any evidence showing Sabharwal did move the switches, beyond the verbal exchange it cited. But it quoted US pilots who have read the Indian authorities' report as saying that Kunder, the pilot actively flying, likely would have had his hands full pulling back on the Dreamliner's controls at that stage of the flight. The AAIB's preliminary report said the fuel switches had switched from "run" to "cutoff" a second apart just after takeoff. Almost immediately after the plane lifted off the ground, closed-circuit TV footage showed a backup energy source called a ram air turbine had deployed, indicating a loss of power from the engines. The London-bound plane began to lose thrust, and after reaching a height of 200 metres, the jet started to sink. The fuel switches for both engines were turned back to "run", and the plane automatically tried restarting the engines, the report said. But it was too low and too slow to be able to recover, aviation safety expert John Nance told Reuters. The plane clipped some trees and a chimney before crashing in a fireball into a building on a nearby medical college campus, the report said, killing 19 people on the ground and 241 of the 242 on board the 787. In an internal memo on Monday, Air India chief Campbell Wilson said the preliminary report found no mechanical or maintenance faults and that all required maintenance had been carried out. The AAIB's preliminary report had no safety recommendations for Boeing or engine manufacturer GE. After the report was released, the US Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing 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. The US National Transportation Safety Board has been assisting with the Air India investigation and its chair Jennifer Homendy has been fully briefed on all aspects, a board spokesperson said. "The safety of international air travel depends on learning as much as we can from these rare events so that industry and regulators can improve aviation safety," Homendy said in a statement. "And if there are no immediate safety issues discovered, we need to know that as well." India's aircraft accident investigation body says it's too early to reach any definite conclusions on what led to the deadly Air India plane crash in June that killed 260 people. "We urge both the public and the media to refrain from spreading premature narratives that risk undermining the integrity of the investigative process," Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) chief GVG Yugandhar said, adding the investigation is still not complete. The AAIB statement comes after the Wall Street Journal reported that a cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots of the flight indicated the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane's engines. The newspaper cited people familiar with US officials' early assessment of evidence. The AAIB's preliminary report on the crash on Saturday said one pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel and "the other pilot responded that he did not do so". It did not identify who made those remarks. The two pilots in the flight deck were Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder, who had total flying experience of 15,638 hours and 3403 hours, respectively. Kunder, who was flying the plane, asked Sabharwal why he moved the fuel switches to the "cutoff" position seconds after lifting off the runway, according to the Journal report. The newspaper did not say if there was any evidence showing Sabharwal did move the switches, beyond the verbal exchange it cited. But it quoted US pilots who have read the Indian authorities' report as saying that Kunder, the pilot actively flying, likely would have had his hands full pulling back on the Dreamliner's controls at that stage of the flight. The AAIB's preliminary report said the fuel switches had switched from "run" to "cutoff" a second apart just after takeoff. Almost immediately after the plane lifted off the ground, closed-circuit TV footage showed a backup energy source called a ram air turbine had deployed, indicating a loss of power from the engines. The London-bound plane began to lose thrust, and after reaching a height of 200 metres, the jet started to sink. The fuel switches for both engines were turned back to "run", and the plane automatically tried restarting the engines, the report said. But it was too low and too slow to be able to recover, aviation safety expert John Nance told Reuters. The plane clipped some trees and a chimney before crashing in a fireball into a building on a nearby medical college campus, the report said, killing 19 people on the ground and 241 of the 242 on board the 787. In an internal memo on Monday, Air India chief Campbell Wilson said the preliminary report found no mechanical or maintenance faults and that all required maintenance had been carried out. The AAIB's preliminary report had no safety recommendations for Boeing or engine manufacturer GE. After the report was released, the US Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing 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. The US National Transportation Safety Board has been assisting with the Air India investigation and its chair Jennifer Homendy has been fully briefed on all aspects, a board spokesperson said. "The safety of international air travel depends on learning as much as we can from these rare events so that industry and regulators can improve aviation safety," Homendy said in a statement. "And if there are no immediate safety issues discovered, we need to know that as well." India's aircraft accident investigation body says it's too early to reach any definite conclusions on what led to the deadly Air India plane crash in June that killed 260 people. "We urge both the public and the media to refrain from spreading premature narratives that risk undermining the integrity of the investigative process," Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) chief GVG Yugandhar said, adding the investigation is still not complete. The AAIB statement comes after the Wall Street Journal reported that a cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots of the flight indicated the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane's engines. The newspaper cited people familiar with US officials' early assessment of evidence. The AAIB's preliminary report on the crash on Saturday said one pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel and "the other pilot responded that he did not do so". It did not identify who made those remarks. The two pilots in the flight deck were Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder, who had total flying experience of 15,638 hours and 3403 hours, respectively. Kunder, who was flying the plane, asked Sabharwal why he moved the fuel switches to the "cutoff" position seconds after lifting off the runway, according to the Journal report. The newspaper did not say if there was any evidence showing Sabharwal did move the switches, beyond the verbal exchange it cited. But it quoted US pilots who have read the Indian authorities' report as saying that Kunder, the pilot actively flying, likely would have had his hands full pulling back on the Dreamliner's controls at that stage of the flight. The AAIB's preliminary report said the fuel switches had switched from "run" to "cutoff" a second apart just after takeoff. Almost immediately after the plane lifted off the ground, closed-circuit TV footage showed a backup energy source called a ram air turbine had deployed, indicating a loss of power from the engines. The London-bound plane began to lose thrust, and after reaching a height of 200 metres, the jet started to sink. The fuel switches for both engines were turned back to "run", and the plane automatically tried restarting the engines, the report said. But it was too low and too slow to be able to recover, aviation safety expert John Nance told Reuters. The plane clipped some trees and a chimney before crashing in a fireball into a building on a nearby medical college campus, the report said, killing 19 people on the ground and 241 of the 242 on board the 787. In an internal memo on Monday, Air India chief Campbell Wilson said the preliminary report found no mechanical or maintenance faults and that all required maintenance had been carried out. The AAIB's preliminary report had no safety recommendations for Boeing or engine manufacturer GE. After the report was released, the US Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing 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. The US National Transportation Safety Board has been assisting with the Air India investigation and its chair Jennifer Homendy has been fully briefed on all aspects, a board spokesperson said. "The safety of international air travel depends on learning as much as we can from these rare events so that industry and regulators can improve aviation safety," Homendy said in a statement. "And if there are no immediate safety issues discovered, we need to know that as well."
The Star
5 hours ago
- General
- The Star
Air India probe focuses on pilots
A cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots of the Air India flight that crashed last month indicates the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane's engines, the Wall Street Journal reported. The newspaper cited people familiar with US officials' early assessment of evidence uncovered in the investigation into the June 12 crash of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner in Ahmedabad, India, that killed 260 people. A preliminary report into the crash released by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said one pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel and 'the other pilot responded that he did not do so.' Investigators did not identify which remarks were made by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and which by First Officer Clive Kunder, who had total flying experience of 15,638 hours and 3,403 hours, respectively. Kunder, who was flying the plane, asked Sabharwal why he moved the fuel switches to the 'cutoff' position seconds after lifting off the runway, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Journal did not say if there was any evidence that Sabharwal did move the switches, beyond the verbal exchange it cited. But it quoted US pilots who have read the Indian authorities' report as saying that Kunder, the pilot actively flying, likely would have had his hands full pulling back on the plane's controls at that stage of the flight. India's AAIB, Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Air India and unions representing Indian pilots did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment on the Wall Street Journal report. Boeing declined to comment. The AAIB's preliminary report said the fuel switches had switched from run to cutoff a second apart just after takeoff, but it did not say how they were flipped. Almost immediately after the plane lifted off the ground, CCTV footage showed a backup energy source had deployed, indicating a loss of power from the engines. The London-bound plane began to lose thrust, and after reaching a height of 650 feet, started to sink. The fuel switches for both engines were turned back to run, and the airplane automatically tried restarting the engines, the report said. But the plane was too low and too slow to be able to recover, aviation safety expert John Nance told Reuters. The plane clipped some trees and a chimney before crashing in a fireball into a building on a nearby medical college campus, killing 19 on the ground and 241 of the 242 on board the 787. In an internal memo, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said the preliminary report found no mechanical or maintenance faults and that all required maintenance had been carried out. The AAIB's preliminary report had no safety recommendations for Boeing or engine manufacturer GE. After the report was released, the US Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing privately issued notifications that the fuel switch locks on Boeing planes are safe. The circumstantial evidence increasingly indicates that a crew member flipped the engine fuel switches, Nance said, given there was 'no other rational explanation' that was consistent with the information released to date. Nonetheless, investigators 'still have to dig into all the factors' and rule out other factors, he said. Most air crashes are caused by multiple factors, and under international rules, a final report is expected within a year. The Air India crash has rekindled debate over adding flight deck cameras, known as cockpit image recorders, on airliners. Air India has faced additional scrutiny on other fronts after the crash. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency said it plans to investigate its budget airline, Air India Express, after Reuters reported the carrier did not follow a directive to change engine parts of an Airbus A320 in a timely manner and falsified records to show compliance. — Reuters
New Straits Times
14 hours ago
- General
- New Straits Times
India investigators say too early to draw conclusions on Air India crash cause
NEW DELHI: India's aircraft accident investigation body said on Thursday it was too early to reach any "definite conclusions" on what led to the deadly Air India Boeing plane crash last month that killed 260 people. "We urge both the public and the media to refrain from spreading premature narratives that risk undermining the integrity of the investigative process," Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) chief GVG Yugandhar said, adding that the investigation is still not complete. Earlier on Thursday, The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with US officials' early assessment of evidence, reported that a cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots of the flight indicated that the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane's engines. Reuters could not independently verify The Wall Street Journal's report. The AAIB's preliminary report on the crash on Saturday said one pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel and "the other pilot responded that he did not do so." It did not identify who made those remarks. The two pilots in the flight deck were Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder, who had total flying experience of 15,638 hours and 3,403 hours, respectively. Kunder, who was flying the plane, asked Sabharwal why he moved the fuel switches to the "cutoff" position seconds after lifting off the runway, according to the Journal report. The newspaper did not say if there was any evidence that Sabharwal did move the switches, beyond the verbal exchange it cited. But it quoted US pilots who have read the Indian authorities' report as saying that Kunder, the pilot actively flying, likely would have had his hands full pulling back on the Dreamliner's controls at that stage of the flight.
NZ Herald
16 hours ago
- General
- NZ Herald
Air India crash: US officials believe captain likely cut off fuel supply
According to the report, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why 'did you cut off' the fuel supply in the recovered cockpit voice recording. The other pilot responded that he 'didn't'. It was not previously clear who said what. However, sources in the US who have reviewed the cockpit voice recordings told the Wall Street Journal that it was the captain who was questioned about why he cut off fuel to engines. The switches were moved in succession, one second apart, according to the report. Some 10 seconds later, the switches were turned back on. The report did not say whether the switches may have been turned off accidentally or deliberately. Sumeet Sabharwal, the captain, and Clive Kundar, the co-pilot had more than 9000 hours of flying time between them. On Sunday, the Telegraph revealed that Air India crash investigators were examining the medical records of Sabharwal amid claims that he suffered from depression and mental health problems. Sabharwal, 56, had been considering leaving the airline to look after his elderly father following the death of his mother in 2022. In the moments before the disaster, Sabharwal issued a mayday call. However, after the aircraft reached a maximum altitude of barely 400ft above the runway, all contact was lost. The plane then fell towards the ground and exploded on impact. Campbell Wilson, the Air India chief executive, said in a staff memo that the report had 'triggered a new round of speculation in the media'. Wilson said the report neither identified any cause nor made any recommendations and urged people to avoid drawing premature conclusions as the investigation was far from over. Indian media, however, reported that investigators were examining potential electrical and digital faults that could have triggered 'uncommanded' actions. 'The probe will ascertain the possibility of an 'uncommanded transition' of the fuel control switches to the cut-off mode seconds after the lift-off,' an official aware of the investigation was reported to have said. Just hours before take-off, a pilot flying the same aircraft from Delhi to Ahmedabad noted in the technical log a 'stabiliser position transducer defect', the newspaper said. The stabiliser position transducer is a sensor that controls the up and down movement of the aircraft's nose, and transmits the data to flight control systems. The official said the malfunction was checked and the engineer did the troubleshooting. 'The malfunction is a critical issue as it can trigger incorrect responses in flight control, including unintended fuel cut-off signal,' the official was quoted as saying. There had been at least two more similar incidents on the aircraft in the weeks before the crash, the newspaper said. One involved a false fuel system warning that flashed on the screen of the plane's control panel. Another was an electrical fault that led to the cancellation of a flight. The official added that the aircraft had previously experienced two major problems, including an emergency landing in 2015 because of a cabin air compressor issue. The Federation of Indian Pilots has expressed dissatisfaction at pilot representatives being excluded from the investigation process, saying: 'We also firmly object to the way in which the preliminary report has been interpreted and presented publicly.' Captain C S Randhawa, the federation's president, said: 'The report, as released, lacks comprehensive data and appears to rely selectively on paraphrased cockpit voice recordings to suggest pilot error and question the professional competence and integrity of the flight crew. 'This approach is neither objective nor complete. Assigning blame before a thorough, transparent, and data-driven investigation is both premature and irresponsible.' The crash was the first fatal accident involving Boeing's Dreamliner. However, the airline had already suffered reputational damage after a string of safety and quality problems. The Dreamliner, which entered service in 2011, is popular among commercial airlines and is commonly used on international long-haul routes.
International Business Times
17 hours ago
- General
- International Business Times
Did Captain Sumeet Sabharwal Intentionally Crash Air India Plane? Investigation Focuses on Pilot Who 'Remained Calm' While First Officer 'Panicked'
Investigators examining the Air India crash are focusing on the actions of the captain, who stayed composed while the first officer panicked over a potential fuel cutoff to the engines. Black-box audio indicates it was Captain Sumeet Sabharwal who flipped the switches, according to sources familiar with the U.S. side of the investigation. US pilots reviewing the Indian inquiry believe that First Officer Clive Kunder, who was piloting the plane at the time, was likely preoccupied with keeping the Boeing Dreamliner stable, The Wall Street Journal reported. That responsibility would have left the captain, serving as the monitoring pilot, completely free to oversee the situation and make all necessary adjustments. Flight's Pilot in Focus Captain Sumeet Sabharwal X The official report claims that two vital switches were turned off in quick succession, just one second apart. Both were switched back on ten seconds later. A preliminary transcript of the cockpit conversation shows that one pilot asked the other why he moved the switches, but the second pilot denied doing it. The aircraft crashed near Ahmedabad airport, erupting in flames and killing all but one of the 242 people onboard. Clive Kunder X The report comes after investigators on the pilots' health records, with claims that Sabharwal had a history of depression and mental health concerns. Notably, the switches involved had a locking mechanism that required pilots to lift them before moving —accidentally turning the off is impossible, as they were not simple push buttons. The investigation into the devastating crash has now turned its focus to Sabharwal's behavior. A massive plume of smoke seen billowing from the crash site near the Ahmedabad international airport after teh Air India Flight 171 crashed X Captain Mohan Ranganathan, a leading aviation safety expert in India, revealed that multiple Air India pilots had allegedly confirmed that Sabharwal, an experienced pilot, had suffered from poor mental health. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Ranganathan stated, "He had taken time off from flying in the last three to four years. He had taken medical leave for that." It is also reported that Sabharwal had been on bereavement leave after his mother's death. However, according to Ranganathan, he had been "medically cleared" by Air India before the deadly crash last month. Several Unanswered Questions A former colleague of Sabharwal in Mumbai described him as a "thorough gentleman" and shared with the publication that Sabharwal had been thinking about taking early retirement within the next couple of years to care for his 90-year-old father. The Air India Flight 171 seen after the deadly crash moments after takeoff from Ahmedabad X Meanwhile, co-pilot Clive Kunder, aged 28, had logged over 3,400 flying hours during his relatively brief career. The Telegraph reported that while Air India declined to issue an official statement, a representative from its parent company, Tata Group, told the outlet that Sabharwal had not taken any medical leave. The preliminary investigation report also failed to uncover any major findings. Officials said that both pilots had successfully passed the Class I medical examination within the past two years, a test that assesses their mental and physical fitness. A massive plume of smoke seen billowing from the crash site near the Ahmedabad international airport after teh Air India Flight 171 crashed X On Sunday, Indian authorities released a preliminary report that raised critical questions about why the pilot would have manually shut off the fuel switches — and whether it was an intentional decision or a tragic error. According to the report, "In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other: why did he cut off? The other pilot responded that he did not do so." Typically, fuel switches are turned on and off at specific phases of flight, but in this case, they were shut off just after takeoff — and the landing gear had not been retracted. Sumeet Sabharwal X At the time, the co-pilot was handling the takeoff while the captain was acting as the monitoring pilot. The report noted that the switches were turned back to the "run" position just seconds later, initiating the engine restart sequence. One engine did begin to relight but failed to produce sufficient thrust, while the second engine was still in the process of regaining power. When investigators reached the crash site, both switches were found in the "run" position. Sumeet Sabharwal X According to the report, both pilots had received sufficient rest prior to the flight and passed the breath analyzer test, confirming they were 'fit to operate.' The aircraft was not carrying any hazardous materials, and its weight was within the permissible range. Fuel samples taken from the aircraft's tanks were tested and found to be of acceptable quality, and there was no notable bird activity detected along the flight path.
