The Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA) on Saturday raised concerns over the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau’s (AAIB) preliminary report on the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, saying the investigation is “shrouded in secrecy,” appears to be biased against the pilot and has come to a conclusion hastily.
“The tone and direction of the investigation suggest a bias towards pilot error. We categorically reject this presumption and insist on a fair, fact-based inquiry,” ALPA India president Sam Thomas said in a statement.
The 15-page report revealed that the fuel supply to both engines of Air India flight AI171 was cut off within a second of each other, causing confusion in the cockpit and the airplane plummeting back to the ground almost immediately after taking off. The report said that in the cockpit voice recording, one unidentified pilot asked the other why he had cut off the fuel, which the other denied.
“The tone and direction of the investigation suggest a bias towards pilot error... ALPA India categorically rejects this presumption and insists on a fair, fact-based inquiry,” Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA) said in a statement. The association has also demanded that its representatives should be observers in the investigation process to ensure transparency and accountability.
The ALPA India is a member of the International Federation of Airline Pilots’ Association (IFALPA). In a letter, the Association alleged: “We are once again surprised at the secrecy surrounding these investigations. We are also reiterating the fact that suitably qualified personnel are not taken on board for these crucial investigations.
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.”
Noting that the report refers to a serviceability bulletin concerning the fuel control switch gates, which indicates a potential equipment malfunction, the Association said, “while the bulletin exists, ALPA India demands clarity on whether the recommendations outlined in the bulletin were implemented prior to the flight.”
On June 12, the London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner began to lose thrust almost immediately after taking off from the Ahmedabad airport and ploughed into a medical college hostel, killing all but one of the 242 onboard and another 19 on ground in the deadliest aviation accident in a decade.
Aviation experts, meanwhile, opined that the reasons for the change in fuel switch position will be known during further investigations. Federation of Indian Pilots (FPI) President and former Air India pilot Captain C S Randhawa said the position of the fuel switches can be changed only with a human interface. These switches are spring-loaded and have a lock. If they have to be put into RUN position, then first, it has to be pulled out and move into the position, he said.
According to him, the switches are generally used in case there has been a flameout of both engines or the pilots have recycled the switches. “It is not clear from the preliminary report as to why the position of the switches was changed”, he said and added that there could also have been an interruption in the power supply.
“When the fuel control switch has to be cut off, the pilot flying will say, fuel control switch left, confirm. So, after the confirmation is made by the second pilot, the pilot monitoring will cut off (the switch). “In this case, the first officer was taking off the aircraft and the captain was pilot monitoring. Now, did this transfer of controls take place between the captain and the first officer? It is not clear from the report at all,” he noted.
The fuel switches are below the throttles. “Now, in case of a dual engine flameout, the auto-throttle switches are put off and fuel control switches are made to cut off and run. Basically, they reactivate,” he said.
A former Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) official said there was a change in the position of the fuel switches and the question is why it happened. “Now, the investigation will lead in this direction to why this switch position changed, whether it was a mechanical failure, whether it was intentional or unintentional or anything else or if there was a problem... The question is also whether there was a software glitch and or not,” he said.
In the report, there is no mention on whether there was any malfunctioning of the fuel switches earlier. A senior Boeing commander said it is not exactly clear from the preliminary report why the fuel switch was turned to CUTOFF from RUN position. The change might have happened inadvertently, he added.
According to a senior official, who has been part of various aircraft accident investigations, investigations in the coming months will help in ascertaining the reasons, including whether there were any mechanical issues, for the change in position of the fuel switches.