New Delhi: A US media report reveals a cockpit recording of the last conversation between the two pilots of the Air India flight that crashed last month in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. It shows the Captain switched off the fuel to the plane’s engine.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the first officer flying the Boeing 787 Dreamliner asked the more experienced Captain why he moved the fuel cutoff switches just after takeoff. The first officer sounded panicked, while the Captain stayed calm, the report says.
The pilots were Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder, who had 15,638 and 3,403 hours of flying experience respectively.
They were among 241 people on the flight who died, along with 19 people on the ground. Only one passenger survived.
The Wall Street Journal refers to a preliminary report from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AIIB) stating both engines’ fuel cutoff switches were turned off one after the other within one second, shortly after the plane lifted off. The crash happened just 32 seconds after takeoff.
The report suggests the Captain was the one who turned off the switches, according to people familiar with the investigation, US pilots, and safety experts. The report did not clarify if this was an accident or intentional.
‘Don’t jump to conclusions’
Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu said last week the findings are preliminary and people should wait for the final report before making judgments.
“I don’t think we should jump to conclusions. Our pilots and crew are some of the best in the world and we appreciate their hard work. They are the backbone of civil aviation. We must wait for the final report before commenting,” he said.
He added, “There are technical details involved, so it’s too early to comment. The preliminary report is out, but we need to wait for solid information.”
Indian pilots criticize US media report
The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) President, CS Randhawa, strongly rejected the Wall Street Journal’s “baseless” report and promised action against the publication.
He said the AIIB’s preliminary report does not say the pilots turned off the fuel switches.
“Nowhere does the report say the pilot turned off the fuel switch by mistake. I condemn the article for blaming the pilot.
They didn’t read the report properly, and we will take action through FIP. Until the detailed report is out, people should not make baseless claims,” Randhawa told ANI.
Air India inspects fuel control switches
Air India completed precautionary checks on the locking mechanism of the Fuel Control Switch (FCS) on all its Boeing 787-8 planes, following a directive from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). No problems were found.
“Our Engineering team checked the locking mechanism on all Boeing 787 aircraft. The inspections are done, and no issues were found,” the airline told its crew.
The airline also confirmed all its Boeing 787-8 planes had their Throttle Control Modules (TCM) replaced as scheduled by Boeing. The Fuel Control Switch is part of the TCM.
