The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) on Friday reiterated their demand for investigating the possibility of electrical failure causing the Air India 171 to crash in Ahmedabad last year, while questioning the investigation over conflict of interest.
Citing findings of simulations conducted by FIP, the pilots body questioned the preliminary report of Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) which suggested Ram Air Turbine (RAT) got deployed 4-5 seconds after fuel interruption. RAT is an emergency wind turbine mounted in an aircraft’s fuselage and acts as a backup power source.
The FIP said it conducted 10 level-D simulations of Boeing 787 aircraft, the variant involved in the crash, in a replicated scenario of weight, speed, temperature and other flying conditions. “It took 18 seconds for RAT to deploy and generate hydraulic pressure,” C S Randhawa, President of the FIP said, while questioning the preliminary report findings.
Earlier, FIP had also sent a letter to the union government as well as AAIB saying electrical-fault, and not deliberate fuel shut-off caused the London-bound flight to crash soon after taking off.
“Aircraft crashed with wheels down, so the question is did aircraft move into Air Mode or maybe transient. If it was transient, it indicates electrical problems,” Randhawa said.
The pilot’s group also cited the sole survivor of the crash, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh’s statement about a sudden loud bang and lights flickering in the cabin as evidence of electrical failure.
The pilots body also questioned the composition of a 5-member investigating team at the AAIB. “The presence of two (three) DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) members is a clear case of conflict of interest,” said Randhawa.
The FIP also questioned the appointment of veteran pilot RS Sandhu as a domain expert to the investigating team. “They have onboarded a former Boeing 737 pilot to investigate crash of Boeing 787 (sic),” said Randhawa while questioning Sandhu’s suitability.
The pilots body has been vocal about electrical failure and not ‘deliberate fuel cut-off’ being the reason behind the accident since several interpretations of the preliminary report aimed to question the role of pilots.
