U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy said on Friday that recent media reports on the Air India Boeing Dreamliner crash that killed 260 people were premature and speculative.
A preliminary investigation released last week by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau found confusion in the cockpit shortly before the June 12 crash, and raised fresh questions over the position of the critical engine fuel cutoff switches.
A cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots of the flight supports the view that the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane’s engines, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing a source familiar with U.S. officials’ early assessment of evidence.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner bound for London from Ahmedabad immediately began to lose thrust and sink down, according to the report on the world’s deadliest aviation accident in a decade released last week by Indian accident investigators.
The report by AAIB about the June 12 crash shortly after takeoff raises fresh questions over the position of the critical engine fuel cutoff switches, while suggesting that Boeing and engine maker GE had no apparent responsibility for the accident.
The crash is a challenge for Tata Group’s ambitious campaign to restore Air India’s reputation and revamp its fleet, after taking the carrier over from the government in 2022.
Focus On Fuel Switches
Almost immediately after the plane lifted off the ground, CCTV footage shows a backup energy source called a ram air turbine had deployed, indicating a loss of power from the engines.
In the flight’s final moment, 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 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 commanding pilot of the Air India plane was Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, who had a total flying experience of 15,638 hours and, according to the Indian government, was also an Air India instructor. His co-pilot was Clive Kunder, 32, who had 3,403 hours of total experience.
The fuel switches had almost simultaneously flipped from run to cutoff just after takeoff. The preliminary report did not say how the switches could have flipped to the cutoff position during the flight.
Experts have said a pilot would not be able to accidentally move the fuel switches.
GE Aerospace, Boeing, Air India, India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation and AAIB did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Homendy said investigations of this magnitude take time, and that the NTSB will continue to support AAIB’s ongoing probe.
(With inputs from Reuters)
