The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on Thursday dubbed some international media reports claiming fuel switches cut off by pilots of Air India London bound flight crash on June 12 as “irresponsible” and “selective” and appealed all to await publication of Final Investigation Report after completion of its probe.
The appeal from AAIB came after few international media outlets drew conclusions based on the preliminary report of the Air India crash in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad on June 12 in which 260 people died.
The AAIB said that it works in accordance with the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2017, and is responsible for fulfilling the obligations of the Indian government towards ICAO Annex 13.
AAIB highlighted that it has a flawless record in investigating 92 Accidents and 111 Serious incidents since its inception in 2012.
“Even now, apart from investigating in the ill-fated Air India’s B787-8 aircraft VT-ANB, several other accidents and serious incidents are under investigation,” it said.
The AAIB received the VT-ANB (Air India London Gatwick bound) accident has been the most devastating accident in recent aviation history and the investigation is being undertaken in a rigorous and most professional manner in accordance with the AAIB Rules and international protocols.
“While the accident of this dimension has drawn public attention and shock, however, it needs to be appreciated that this is not the time to create public anxiety or angst towards safety of Indian Aviation Industry, particularly on the basis of unfounded facts,” it said.
It also said that it is essential to respect the sensitivity of the loss faced by family members of deceased. passengers, crew of the aircraft and other deceased persons on ground.
Taking on some international media outlets, AAIB said: “It has come to our attention that certain sections of the international media are repeatedly attempting to draw conclusions through selective and unverified reporting. Such actions are irresponsible, especially while the investigation remains ongoing.”
“We urge both the public and the media to refrain from spreading premature narratives that risk undermining the integrity of the investigative process,” the AAIB appealed.
It said that the purpose of the AAIB’s investigation and preliminary report is to provide information about “what” happened.
“The preliminary report has to be seen in this light. At this stage, it is too early to reach to any definite conclusions. The investigation by AAIB is still not complete. The Final Investigation Report will come out with root causes and recommendations,” it said.
“Therefore, AAIB appeals to all concerned to await publication of Final Investigation Report after completion of the Investigation,” the AAIB said, adding that it will also publish updates as and when required which have technical and public interest.
The AAIB had submitted its 15 page preliminary report on July 12 early hours of the Air India crash in Ahmedabad.
The report had highlighted the fuel control switches in the cockpit of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner had been flipped, starving the engines of fuel.
Investigators at AAIB were able to get data out of the plane’s black box recorders, including 49 hours of flight data and two hours of cockpit audio, including from the crash.
The report highlighted: “The aircraft had reached an airspeed of 180 knots when both engines’ fuel cutoff switches were transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of 01 sec.”
The report also said: “In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so.”
The report did not mention which pilot said that and also did not release the entire transcript of the conversation.
However, the report pointed out that shortly after, the switches were reversed run position, and the engines were in the process of powering back up when the crash happened.
