Air India accident: Preliminary investigation report reveals, the plane crashed due to stoppage of fuel supply

Pilot Captain Sumit Sabharwal and co-pilot Clive Kunder also lost their lives in the Air India plane crash – File Photo – ITG

Air India Plane Crash AAIB Report: The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has released a preliminary report on the Ahmedabad plane crash. Many important revelations have been made in this report. The investigation has revealed that the US agency had issued an advisory to Air India seven years ago regarding the fuel control switch of Boeing 787 aircraft.

The initial investigation report of the accident of Air India flight AI171 has come out. The conversation between the pilots has been recorded just seconds before the accident. One pilot asked, why did you turn off the fuel? To this the other pilot replied, I did not do that.

If Air India had accepted the advice of the US agency in 2018, perhaps the Ahmedabad plane crash could have been avoided. A big truth has come out in the report of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), which is investigating this horrific accident. The report states that the US agency Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had given important advice to Air India seven years ago regarding the engine fuel control switch. But Air India ignored it. Air India had said that the FAA had only issued advice, it was not a mandatory instruction. Therefore, the engine fuel control switch was not inspected.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has said in the investigation report that the US agency Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had issued Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) number NM-18-33 on 17 December 2018. It said that the locking feature of the aircraft’s fuel control switch is likely to be inactive. The FAA had issued this advice based on the reports received from some operators of Boeing 737 model aircraft. The operators had said in the report that the locking feature of the fuel control switch was inactive in some aircraft of this model.

However, the FAA did not consider it unsafe in its advice. Therefore, the FAA did not feel the need to issue any Airworthiness Directive (AD). Airworthiness Directive is issued to correct any unsafe condition in the aircraft, engine, propeller or equipment.

The report said that a similar fuel control switch was installed in the aircraft that met with an accident in Ahmedabad. The investigation revealed that Air India did not inspect the locking feature of the fuel control switch even after the FAA’s advice. Regarding this, Air India had said that because the FAA had only issued advice, it was not a mandatory instruction. Therefore the fuel control switch was not checked.

No fault found in fuel control switch

Investigation of the maintenance records of Air India’s aircraft revealed that the throttle control module of the accident-hit aircraft was replaced in 2019 and 2023. However, this change was not related to the fuel control switch. Also, no fault related to the fuel control switch has been reported in the aircraft since 2023.

Engine fuel cutoff initial reason

AAIB has stated in its report that the initial cause of the plane crash was the cut-off of fuel from the engines. The report said that an investigation of the aircraft’s data recorder found that both engines stopped working a few seconds after the flight, as the fuel supply to them was cut off. There were signs of power supply disruption in the aircraft from the Ram Air Turbine (RAT), which was revealed by CCTV.

What has happened so far in the post crash investigation

*The wreckage site activities, including drone photography/videography, have been completed, and the wreckage has been moved to a secure area near the airport.

*Both engines have been removed from the wreckage site and kept aside in a hangar at the airport.

*Critical components have been identified and kept aside for further investigation.

*Fuel samples taken from the bowser and tanks used for refuelling the aircraft were tested at the DGCA laboratory and were found satisfactory.

*Very limited fuel samples could be obtained from the APU filter and the left wing refuel/jetson valve. These samples will be tested at a suitable facility capable of conducting tests with limited available quantities.

*EAFR data downloaded from the advance EAFR is being analysed in detail.

*Statements of witnesses and surviving passenger have been obtained by the investigators.

*The postmortem reports of the crew and passengers are being fully analyzed to confirm the aeromedical findings with the engineering evaluation.

*Additional details are being gathered based on initial leads.

*At this stage of the investigation, there are no recommended actions for the B787-8 and/or GE GEnx-1B engine operators and manufacturers.

*The investigation is ongoing and the investigation team will review and examine additional evidence, records and information being sought from stakeholders.
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The accident happened on 12th June
Let us tell you that Air India’s state-of-the-art aircraft – Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 crashed a few seconds after taking off in Meghnanigar, Ahmedabad on 12th June. There were 12 crew members among the 242 people on board the aircraft. The passengers included 169 Indian citizens, 53 British citizens, one Canadian citizen and 7 Portuguese citizens. Many people present in Meghnanigar at the time of the accident were killed. The injured were admitted to the hospital.