Air India Crash: New Report Unveils Startling Details

An Air India flight tragically crashed just moments after take-off, leading to a significant loss of life. A new official report has now been released, bringing to light some truly surprising details about what happened in those critical seconds. This report has sparked a lot of discussion, particularly around the role of the pilots and potential technical issues.

The Official Report and Initial Findings

The Air India crash report comes from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). All the times in the report are in UTC, which is about five and a half hours behind Indian Standard Time (IST). For clarity, I've converted everything to IST here.

On 12th June, at 11:17 AM, the plane landed in Ahmedabad after a flight from Delhi. While parked, the crew reported an issue in the aircraft's logbook, specifically a 'Pilot Defect Report'. They noted 'STAB POS XDCR', which means the stabiliser position sensor wasn't working right. This sensor measures the position of the horizontal stabiliser at the back of the plane. An Air India maintenance engineer was supposed to fix it, and by 12:10 PM, the plane was cleared for its next flight.

The two pilots for this next flight were Mumbai-based and had arrived in Ahmedabad the night before, so they were well-rested. The co-pilot was flying the plane, and the captain was monitoring. Both pilots passed their pre-flight breathalyser tests at 11:55 AM, so no alcohol was involved. CCTV footage shows them at the boarding gate by 12:35 PM. The plane's fuel weight was 54,200 kg, and its take-off weight was over 213,000 kg, which was within the allowed limits.

The Critical Moments: Engine Shutdown

The plane took off at 1:38:39 PM. Just three seconds later, at 1:38:42 PM, it hit its maximum speed of 180 knots. Right after this, things went wrong very quickly. The fuel cut-off switches for both Engine One and Engine Two suddenly moved from the 'run' position to the 'cut-off' position. 'Run' means the engine is on and getting fuel, while 'cut-off' means the fuel supply is stopped, effectively turning the engine off.

According to the report, both switches moved within one second of each other. First, one engine's fuel was cut off, and then the other's a second later. This is why the plane started to drop before it even cleared the airport wall. When both engines fail, a Ram Air Turbine (RAT) is supposed to deploy. The report confirms the RAT did deploy at 1:38:47 PM and started supplying hydraulic power. However, the power it provided wasn't enough because the plane was at such a low altitude.

The Mysterious Conversation

After both engines shut down, one pilot asked the other, "Why did you cut off?" The other pilot replied, "I did not do so." This conversation is in the report, but that's all we get. We don't know what else was said, or even which pilot asked the question and which one answered. This incomplete conversation just raises more questions.

Key Takeaways

• The report only provides a single line of conversation between the pilots.
• It doesn't specify which pilot said what, or if any further discussion took place.
• This lack of detail leaves a lot of room for speculation and doesn't offer clear answers.

Was one pilot trying to crash the plane on purpose? Did they accidentally hit the switches? Or was there something wrong with the switches themselves or how they were maintained? This is a big puzzle, and we'll come back to it.

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Back to the crash timeline: About ten seconds after the fuel supply was cut, at 1:38:52 PM, the pilots moved the first engine's switch back to 'on'. Four seconds later, at 1:38:56 PM, the second engine's switch was also turned back on. This allowed fuel to flow again. Within a few seconds, the first engine recovered and started working, but the second engine wouldn't restart, even with repeated attempts.

Unfortunately, time was running out for the pilots. At 1:39:05 PM, a pilot contacted Air Traffic Control (ATC) and made three 'Mayday' calls. ATC tried to contact them back but got no response. The plane had already crashed. Just six seconds after the Mayday call, at 1:39:11 PM, the flight data recorder stopped working. Investigators believe this is the exact time of the crash.

Pilot Blame: A Theory Examined

Some people believe one of the pilots intentionally crashed the plane, perhaps due to personal or mental issues. They point to the conversation: "Why did you cut off?" They argue that if it were an accident, the pilot would have asked, "What just happened?" not "Why did you do that?" This, they say, suggests one pilot knew the other had deliberately acted.

However, there are strong arguments against this theory:

• The Reply: The other pilot immediately said, "I did not do so." If a pilot wanted to crash the plane, why deny it right before impact? And why try to turn the switches back on?
• Pilot History: The captain was very experienced, with over 15,000 hours of flying. The co-pilot had over 3,400 hours. Neither had any mental health issues, and the captain was planning for retirement. Both passed their breathalyser tests.
• Attempted Recovery: The fact that they tried to turn the switches back on within ten seconds shows they wanted to save the plane.
• Report's Wording: The report doesn't explicitly state that the pilots manually turned off the switches; it's an assumption.
• Switch Design: These fuel switches aren't simple levers. They have a 'stop-lock' mechanism, meaning you have to pull them up before moving them. It's almost impossible to accidentally hit one, let alone two, and move them into the 'off' position. Pilots also have strict protocols: these switches are usually only touched on the ground to start or shut down engines. During flight, they stay on unless there's a very specific emergency, and even then, it's done at a safe altitude after discussion.

Alternative Explanations: Technical Faults

If it wasn't deliberate or accidental, what else could it be? Some senior pilots suggest an electrical or software malfunction. It's possible the system incorrectly showed the switches as 'off' when they were actually still in 'run' mode. This is theoretically possible.

This brings us to a special bulletin from America's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in December 2018, which is mentioned in the report. Operators of Boeing 737 planes (and the Boeing 787, which was involved in this crash) had reported issues with the fuel control switches. Some had 'disengaged locking features', meaning the switches could be moved without being pulled up first. In such a case, an accidental touch could change the mode, though it's still unlikely.

The FAA recommended that plane owners inspect these switches. If they found a switch could change mode without being pulled, they should replace it. Air India, however, says the FAA's recommendation was just an advisory, not mandatory, so they weren't required to do the inspection. The crashed plane had its throttle control module (which contains the fuel cut-off switch) replaced twice, in 2019 and 2023, but the latest report says this replacement wasn't related to the switch issue. So, could this uninspected issue be a cause of the crash? It's still a big question.

The Unanswered Questions and Future Outlook

It feels like the report, by only giving us one line of conversation, is being used to put the blame on the pilots. Why isn't the full black box conversation being released? The Airline Pilots Association of India has asked the AAIB this very question, suggesting the report's tone is biased towards pilot error. Air Marshal Sanjeev Kapoor, a former Director General of Inspection and Flight Safety in the Indian Air Force, agrees. He says it's impossible for even the most experienced pilot to manually turn off both fuel switches in one second, as happened in this crash. He believes the engines failed immediately after take-off, and the pilots tried to restart them in the very short time they had.

This is just a preliminary report. International rules say such a report must be released within 30 days of a crash. This one came out on 11th July, after the 12th June crash. These reports aren't meant to assign blame, but to give initial findings. The real answers will come in the detailed, conclusive report, which is expected within a year. I really hope that final report makes the full conversation between the pilots public and tells us the whole truth, no matter how difficult it might be.

It's not always like that, though. In March 2022, a Boeing 737 crashed in China, a truly awful event where everyone died. The plane had an unusual vertical fall. You'd expect to know why by now, but the Chinese government used 'national security' as an excuse and simply refused to release the full investigation findings to the public. Let's hope that doesn't happen here.