AAIB has released its preliminary report; Pilots’ grouping ALPA India seeks fair, fact-based probe into AI plane crash

Mumbai: Airline Pilots’ Association of India on Saturday demanded a fair and fact-based probe into the Air India plane crash as it claimed that the tone and direction of the investigation into the Air India plane crash suggests a bias towards pilot error. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has released its preliminary report into the fatal Boeing 787-8 plane crash on June 12 that killed 260 people.

The report 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 the ground almost immediately after taking off. The 15-page report says that in the cockpit voice recording, one unidentified pilot asked the other why he had cut off the fuel, which the other denied. “The tone and direction of the investigation suggest a bias towards pilot error... ALPA India categorically rejects this presumption and insists on a fair, fact-based inquiry,” Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA) said in a statement.

The association has also demanded that its representatives should be observers in the investigation process to ensure transparency and accountability. ALPA India is a member of the International Federation of Airline Pilots’ Association (IFALPA). “We are once again surprised at the secrecy surrounding these investigations. We are also reiterating the fact that suitably qualified personnel are not taken on board for these crucial investigations,” the Association alleged in the letter. “We feel that the investigation is being driven in a direction presuming the guilt of pilots and we strongly object to this line of thought,” it alleged. Noting that the report refers to a serviceability bulletin concerning the fuel control switch gates, which indicates a potential equipment malfunction, the Association said, “while the bulletin exists, ALPA India demands clarity on whether the recommendations outlined in the bulletin were implemented prior to the flight.”