By Aditi Calra, Alison Lamp and Abhigit Ganapavar
New Delhi (Reuters) -The pre -triggering reports confusion in the cockpit shortly before the Air India plane crashed and killed 260 people last month after the airplane fuel switches turned almost simultaneously and hungry fuel engines.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, bound to London by the Indian city of Ahmedabad, began to lose thrust and sink shortly after the departure, according to the report on the most deadly aviation incident in the world after a decade, published on Saturday by Indian investigative accidents.
The report of the Indian Audit Office (AAIB) on the June 12 crash raises new questions regarding the position of critical engine fuel switches.
Almost as soon as the plane rose from the ground, a closed -circuit television footage showed a reserve source of energy called Ram Air Turbine, it unfolded, showing a loss of power from the engines.
In the last moments of the flight, one pilot is heard on the voice recorder of the cockpit asking the other why he cuts the fuel. “The other pilot replied that he had not done it,” the report said.
He does not identify which remarks were made by the captain of the flight and which of the first officer, nor which pilot handed over “Maide, Maide, Maid”, just before the crash.
The Air India aircraft commander was the 56 -year Sumeet Sabharwal, who had a total flying experience of 15 638 hours and, according to the Indian government, was also an instructor of Air India. His pilot was 32-year-old Clive Kunder, who had 3.403 hours of general experience.
The fuel switches almost simultaneously transferred from running to interruption immediately after departure. The preliminary report did not say how the switches could turn to the interruption position during the flight.
“We take care of the well -being and well -being of the pilots, so let’s not jump to any conclusions at this stage, let’s wait for the final report,” Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Nadio told local news channels.
The crash is a challenge for Tata Group’s ambitious campaign to restore Air India reputation and upgrade its fleet after taking the government’s carrier in 2022.
Air India acknowledged the report in a statement. The carrier said he cooperated with the Indian authorities, but declined to comment.
Fuel switches
Experts said the pilot would not be able to accidentally move fuel switches.
“If they were moved because of a pilot, why?” The US aviation safety expert Anthony Brickhouse asked.
The switches turned a second apart, the report said, approximately the time it took to displace one, and then the other, according to US Aviation expert John Nans. He added that the pilot would usually never turn off the switches on the flight, especially when the aircraft starts to climb.
Converting to interruption almost immediately cuts off the engines. It is most commonly used to turn off the engines after an airplane has arrived at its airport gate and in certain emergencies, such as an engine fire. The report does not indicate that there was an emergency that requiring engine interruption.
At the site of the crash, both fuel switches were found in the running position and there were indications of both engines, which were disputed before the collapse at low altitude, it is said that the report, which was published around 1:30 am on Saturday (2000 GMT on Friday).
Asked about the report, the father of the first officer Kunder told reporters, “I’m not from the airline”, refusing to comment on a further prayer meeting, held in the memory of the airline’s crew on Saturday in Mumbai, where emotional scenes took place among sorrows.
The US National Transport Safety Council thanked Indian employees for their cooperation in a statement and noted that the report did not recommend actions aimed at Boeing 787 Jets or GE engines.
The US Aviation Administration has said its priority is to follow the facts where they lead and it is committed to immediately cope with all the risks identified throughout the process.
Boeing said she continues to support the investigation and her customer, Air India. GE AEROSPACE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Crash probe
Aaib, an office under the Ministry of Civil Aviation in India, was conducting a study in the crash that killed all but one of 242 people on board and 19 on the spot.
Most air crashes are caused by many factors, with a preliminary report due to 30 days after the accident, according to the international rules and a final report expected within one year.
The black boxes of the aircraft, combined voice recorders on the cockpit and flight recorders were restored in the days after the crash and later withdrawn in India.
The report states that “all applicable airworthiness directives and warning newsletters have been respected (with) on the aircraft as well as engines.”
Ahmedabad’s closed-round airport showed earlier that Air India’s aircraft rose to a height of 650 feet after it took off, but then suddenly lost height by crashing into a fiery ball in a nearby building.
The investigation report states that when Dreamliner lost height, he initially made contact with several trees and a burning chimney before struck in the building.
Air India is confronted with additional controls on other fronts after the crash.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency said it plans to investigate its budget airline last week, Air India Express after Reuters announced that the carrier did not follow an Airbus A320 engine displacement and falsify entries to display.
India is engaged in a boom in aviation to support wider development targets, with New Delhi saying that it wants India to be a global aviation center to create work on Dubai lines.
(Reporting Hristam Mukerji and Gurcimran Cowor in Bengaluru and Adita Calra and Abhigit Ganapavaram in New Delhi and Alison Lumpert in Montreal, David Shepardon in Washington, Rajes Kumar Singhr in Chicago;