Air India Crash: How did engines fail, why its not mentioned in…? expert raises questions on report
Air India Plane Crash: More than a month has passed, but the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad still remains a mystery. The initial report released by the investigation agency not only seems incomplete, but answers to several questions related to the accident are still to be found. Former Indian Air Force officer and aviation expert Sanjeev Kapoor has raised serious questions about the recently published report. He stated that it is still a mystery what actually happened in the cockpit.
Is The AAIB Report Incomplete?
Kapoor has raised serious questions on the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) report, terming it incomplete. He has also raised questions on the delay of publishing the report. During an interview with India Today, he stated that no pilot gives a ‘Mayday’ call so easily. The Mayday call means the situation was very gruesome and there is no doubt that both the engines had failed. He raised the question how both the engines failed? The report doesn’t mention about engines failure.
How The Fuel Supply Was Cut Off? Not Mentioned In The Report?
The AAIB report states that, few seconds before the crash, the pilot sent a distress call back-to-back three times. As mentioned in the report, the plane took off at 1:38:39 pm (IST) and just 26 seconds later at 08:09:05, the pilot gave the emergency message ‘MAYDAY… MAYDAY… MAYDAY…’ three times.
As per the conversation recorded in the cockpit voice recorder, one pilot questions the other – ‘Why did you stop the fuel supply?’ The other pilot replied I did not stop it. The report says that the fuel control switches (of both engines) changed from ‘run’ to ‘cutoff’ mode in the same second. As the fuel was cut off, the engines stopped immediately, and the plane lost altitude, leading to the deadly crash.
Sanjeev Kapoor raised questions that it is absurd that any sensible pilot would turn off the fuel himself after take-off. The pilot flew the plane manually, he then then it to 170 degrees and turned off the engine? He said this does not match any logic.
Why Is The Information In The Report Incomplete?
Raising questions on the delay in the investigation. Kapoor said the cockpit data was downloaded three weeks ago, so why did it take 20 days for the report to publish. The information in the report is incomplete. He said a more in-depth analysis should have been done if the authorities took such a long time.
RAT System Was Activated, But Only One Engine Could Start
A preliminary investigation by the AAIB indicates that following engine failure, the aircraft’s emergency Ram Air Turbine (RAT) system automatically deployed, supplying some hydraulic power. While the crew attempted to restart both engines, only one was successfully restarted. But the aircraft lost altitude and speed. This resulted in a crash into a hostel building full of students.
System Failure Under Investigation
The report mentions that a probe of the pilot’s mental condition, automation system failure and fuel supply system is still underway. Experts say that deliberate switching off of the fuel control switch might hints technical problems, automatic system malfunctions, or other unspecified factors which are not mentioned in the current report.
The investigation is still underway.
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