Air India says will review preliminary plane crash report with pilots

Air India on Saturday said it will take on board its pilot community by holding dedicated sessions in the coming days to review the preliminary investigation report of the Ahmedabad plane crash on June 12.

The 15-page preliminary report by Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AIIB), released early on Saturday, has found 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 ground almost immediately after taking off.

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 the ground in the deadliest aviation accident in a decade.

"Preliminary investigation report has been officially released in the recent tragic accident involving our flight AI 171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick on June 12. As aviation professionals, we understand top importance from every safety event is the learning to ensure safe skies," Air India senior vice president for flight operations, Manish Uppal said in a communication to pilots.

This tragedy, he said, has deeply influenced the aviation fraternity and Air India pilot community.

"The initial report gives the airline an initial insight. This is not the last word, but an important step in identifying factors and ensuring that all possible measures are taken to prevent such a tragedy from reoccurring," he said in the communication.

In the communication, he also said that pilots are trained to stay under pressure, to continuously learn, and to act decisively when it matters most, adding, "let us apply the same now. Together, we will reflect, react and rise more than before."  "We will organize a dedicated session in the coming days to review the report together," Uppal said in the communication.

The preliminary investigation report into the disaster revealed that fuel-control switches of the two engines moved from the "run" to the "cutoff" position, within the space of one second, leading to immediate loss of altitude.

In the cockpit voice recording, one pilot is heard asking the other why he cut off the fuel. The other denied having done so.

The investigation was conducted with assistance from the UK's Air Accident Investigation Branch and the US National Transportation Safety Board.

Aviation experts have said it is difficult for pilots to inadvertently move the fuel switches, as there is a little mechanical gate built into the switch. Switches need to be lifted up over this little gate to shut off supply. They also asked why the report made no reference to cockpit camera footage.

The Airlines Pilots Association of India raised the issue with the report, saying the investigation is "shrouded in secrecy," appears to be biased against the pilot and has come to a conclusion hastily.