Air India crash updates: Report suggesting pilot error over fuel switch cut off sparks union fury – UK Times

A pilots’ union has hit out at the initial report into the Air India crash for raising the possibility of human error.

In a statement issued in response to the preliminary report in to the Air India crash, The Hindu reported the Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA-I) said: “The tone and direction of the investigation suggest a bias toward pilot error. ALPA-I categorically rejects this presumption and insists on a fair, fact-based inquiry.”

A preliminary report into the Air India crash that killed 260 people last month showed three seconds after taking off, the plane’s engines fuel cutoff switches almost simultaneously flipped from run to cutoff, starving the engines of fuel.

One pilot can be 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.

My colleague Alex Ross has the full story:

Air India flight AI171 took off from Ahmedabad for a journey to London Gatwick on 12 June, yet only moments after takeoff, the Boeing 787crashed into a medical student accommodation.

All but one of the 242 passengers on board died, with further casualties on the ground bringing the death toll to at least 275.

My colleague Amelia Neath reports:

The deadly Air India crash outside Ahmedabad earlier this month could result in the most expensive aviation insurance claim in India’s history, insurance experts say.

Investigators continue to probe what caused the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner to plummet into a crowded residential complex into crash in Ahmedabad just 33 seconds after take-off on 12 June.

The total liability could range from $211m to $280m (approximately £166m to £220m), according to estimates reported by Press Trust of India. This includes the full hull value of the aircraft, compensation for victims’ families under international aviation law, and payouts for third-party property damage and loss of life on the ground.

While the airlines’ losses are expected to be covered under aviation “all-risk” insurance, the payouts for passengers are governed by the Montreal Convention, to which India is a signatory.

Many prospective travellers will see the images of the tragedy in India, and three other passenger jet crashes in the past six months, and conclude that aviation is becoming more dangerous.

Such is the obsession with safety among aviation professionals that many risks have been engineered out. The last fatal accident involving a UK passenger jet was in the 1980s.

A preliminary report into the Air India crash that killed 260 people last month showed three seconds after taking off, the plane’s engines fuel cutoff switches almost simultaneously flipped from run to cutoff, starving the engines of fuel.

One pilot can be 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.

Aviation experts in India monitoring the crash of London Gatwick-bound Air India flight from Ahmedabad have said the preliminary findings are weak compared to other crash reports issued in the past for Boeing aircraft.

“Compared with other high-profile preliminary reports, such as the 33-page Ethiopian Airlines ET 302 (737 MAX) report, the AI 171 report is notably brief and lacking in technical transparency. The ET 302 report included extensive data traces, CVR excerpts, checklists and manufacturer bulletins, enabling stakeholders worldwide to act swiftly,” aviation expert and founder of the NGO Safety Matters Amit Singh told The Hindu.

He added: “In contrast, the AI 171 report reads more like a narrative than a technical investigation and fails to offer the clarity and urgency warranted by such a catastrophic event.”

1. The AAIB, an office under India’s civil aviation ministry, is leading the probe into the crash, which killed all but one of the 242 people on board and 19 others on the ground.
2. The report by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) about the 12 June crash raises fresh questions over the position of the critical engine fuel cutoff switches.
3. Most air crashes are caused by multiple factors, with a preliminary report due 30 days after the accident, according to international rules, and a final report expected within a year.
4. The plane’s black boxes, combined cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders, were recovered in the days following the crash and later downloaded in India.
5. The report said “all applicable airworthiness directives and alert service bulletins were complied (with) on the aircraft as well as engines”.
6. Closed-circuit TV footage from Ahmedabad airport earlier showed the Air India plane climbing to 650 feet after take-off before suddenly losing altitude and crashing in a fireball into a nearby building.

The Pilots’ Association of India has objected to the findings from the preliminary investigation into the London Gatwick-bound Air India plane that crashed last month and said it “presumes the guilt of pilots”.

Captain Sam Thomas, president of Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) India, said: “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.”

“The tone and direction of the investigation suggest a bias toward pilot error. We categorically reject this presumption and insist on a fair, fact-based inquiry,” the captain said.

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 on the world’s deadliest aviation accident in a decade released on Saturday by Indian accident investigators.

The Alpa has also said they are surprised at the “secrecy surrounding these investigations” and questioned the qualifications of those involved.

“We are reiterating the fact that suitably qualified personnel are not taken on board for these crucial investigations”.

The association expressed surprise at the “secrecy surrounding these investigations” and questioned the qualifications of those involved. “We are reiterating the fact that suitably qualified personnel are not taken on board for these crucial investigations,” the statement read.

The report by Indian aviation accident investigators has found fuel supply to the engines of the Air India plane was cut off just seconds after the flight took off.

The 15-page document published by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, which is part of the ongoing probe into what caused the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner to come down, found that fuel control switches were moved to “cut-off” position as the aircraft rose from take-off.