The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) on Wednesday strongly protested against the initial investigation report into the June 12 Air India aircraft crash, terming the report as premature and speculative. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) had issued the first report last week, indicating cockpit activity that resulted in the deadly crash of Air India flight AI171, which was heading for London from Ahmedabad.
FIP: No Representation, No Fairness
The pilots’ organization accused the omission of pilot representatives from the investigation process. In a sternly worded statement, the FIP stated, “Blaming before there has been a full, transparent, and evidence-led investigation is premature and irresponsible. Speculative speculation erodes the professionalism of highly trained crew members and needlessly distresses their families and colleagues.”
Report Highlights Fuel Control Switch Error
The AAIB report had indicated that both the fuel control switches on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner were moved from ‘RUN’ to ‘CUTOFF’ only seconds after takeoff. It also included a cockpit conversation between the two pilots, Sumeet Sabharwal and Clive Kunder, where one inquired, “Why did you cut off?” and was answered by the other as “I did not do so.”
These facts prompted sweeping speculation and assumption of pilot mistake, which the FIP described as deeply unsettling.
Body Slams “Paraphrased” Voice Recordings by Pilots
The FIP further faulted the investigation’s use of selectively paraphrased cockpit voice recordings.
“The report, as published, is not full of data and seems to selectively use paraphrased cockpit voice recordings to imply a pilot mistake and challenge the professionalism and integrity of the flight crew. This method is neither objective nor full,” the statement went on.
The union of pilots called for people and the media not to jump to conclusions about the preliminary report, asserting that a comprehensive and factual investigation should be done before attributing fault.
DGCA Directs Safety Checks; Air India Reacts
With the emphasis on the fuel control switch failure in the report, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation directed checks on similar switches on Boeing 787 and 737 planes.
Air India subsequently confirmed that its engineers had finished inspecting the fuel switches and said they saw “no issues.”.
