 "The London-bound Air India flight was carrying 242 people, including two pilots and 10 cabin crew members. Reuters/File Photo")
An electrical malfunction may have caused the fuel switches on Air India’s Boeing 787-8 to move to the cut-off position without the pilots’ awareness, leading to the crash last month that killed 260 people, according to aviation expert Captain (Retd) Ehsan Khalid.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released a preliminary report on Saturday about the June 12 crash, stating that the fuel switches to the plane’s engines were cut off within a one-second gap right after takeoff, causing confusion in the cockpit before the aircraft slammed into a building.
Although the initial report avoids firm conclusions, some have speculated that pilot error might be to blame for the tragedy.
In an interview to PTI Videos, Khalid, an Air Force veteran, also said the entire cockpit voice recording could have been made public by the AAIB and if that was released, “these speculations or insinuations or smear campaign would not have been there because a pilot, as a community, feels that they are the goalkeeper of flight safety”.
He also said the AAIB report has given rise to more speculations, which were not there before.
Citing cockpit voice recording, the 15-page preliminary report said one pilot asked why the switch was cut off, and the other pilot responded that he did not do so. The AI 171 flight, operated with the Boeing 787-8 aircraft, was flying from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick.
According to Khalid, an electrical malfunction could also have resulted in the aircraft’s fuel switches being cut off soon after takeoff.
“While it is also true that the switch may be in one position and that position may be 1 and the second position is 0 in electrical terms… (then) 0 to 1 or 1 to 0 (position) could have transitioned because of an electrical malfunction or a signal malfunction while the switch could be at the same point.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“That is why I think AAIB, in their own judgment, were very careful in not using the word that fuel switches were moved. They could have used it. It is not that they do not know about it,” he said.
The AAIB report also mentioned that when the fuel switch is moved from cutoff to run, the start sequence starts. “So, they know this word to be used, but they did not use it. And I think very rightly with abundant caution, they did not use this because there is still a possibility that an electrical signal (malfunction) could have caused this (crash),” Khalid said.
Various pilot associations have raised concerns about the AAIB report and have urged all parties to refrain from speculations.
(With inputs from PTI)