First report on the horrific Ahmedabad crash of Air India’s Boeing 787 released by Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau. AAIB’s preliminary report disclosed the crucial dialogues exchanged by the pilots just before the crash. Report outlines a harrowing sequence of events that unfolded within 90 seconds of the take-off. Both engines shut down unexpectedly during initial climb, leading to catastrophic loss of thrust and rapid descent, report said. Experts have reacted to AAIB’s preliminary report.
00:00The preliminary report which has come last night leaves many doubts in my opinion.
00:05Why did the engines fail?
00:07These fuel supply to the engines have just cut off because of some technical malfunction.
00:13There has been a lot of reports of, you know, a lot of maintenance mispractices in Boeing.
00:19After this report, I think there will be more questions asked.
00:23Engines could shut automatically or electrical signals or the computer signals can be wrong.
00:30But it cannot move the switches up and down.
00:32There was no sabotage.
00:33There was no fuel contamination.
00:35There was no flap misconfiguration.
00:38There was no problem with the aircraft maintenance.
00:41The preliminary report which has come last night leaves many doubts in my opinion.
00:47Why did the engines fail?
00:49The pilot has given a made call.
00:51So made call is given by the pilot when there is a grave emergency in the aeroplane.
00:56It is collaborated with operation of RAT.
00:59All of us have seen that one RAT has deployed.
01:02That is a ram air turbine.
01:03So it indicates that complete electricals and complete engines have failed.
01:09Now the issue comes of fuel cut off lever.
01:12In my appreciation when I saw the 787 manual, it says when both the engines have been cut off,
01:18these levers have to be moved mechanically for it to restart.
01:22So the pilots are taking off.
01:25In my appreciation, the engines have failed.
01:27And they in this short period after giving the made a call, they have tried to relight the engine.
01:32So one more thing, as you have said, there is a voice recording coming in land and both pilots were talking with each other,
01:40saying, did you cut off the fuels?
01:43So this reinforces what you are saying, that they were not aware at all.
01:48So one pilot surprisingly is asking the other pilot, did you cut off the fuel?
01:53So it means the fuel supply to the engines have just cut off because of some technical malfunction, in my opinion.
02:01And there have been a report in 2018 by the FAA, which says that this malfunction can take place.
02:08And in 2019, the Japanese airline, Nippon Airlines, aircraft 787, on landing in Jan 2019, had both engine failures on same 787.
02:21But fortunately, it happened at landing.
02:23So when the aircraft landed, the engines got cut off and the aircraft rolled and stopped and it was towed back.
02:29But a lot of advisories have been issued by the Boeing agencies and GE, which is manufacturing the engine.
02:37It is for the operators and the regulators to ensure those things are done.
02:42Sir, you are the veteran of Indian Air Force, former Air Force.
02:46How you see why this happened?
02:48Is this a kind of manufacturing defect, technical defect or why all of this happens?
02:53Because when the plane take off, both engines were running, fuel supply was okay, everything is okay.
02:59And suddenly the fuel supply cut off and engine failure happens.
03:03Why would you see?
03:04See, this has happened for the first time on 787 airplane.
03:10There has been a lot of reports of, you know, a lot of maintenance, mispractices in Boeing.
03:17A lot of the reports and whistleblowers have.
03:19I am not in any way linking those to this incident.
03:23But this aircraft has come from Delhi.
03:25It has landed, it has refueled and it is now going from Ahmedabad to London.
03:31The aircraft is fully loaded with full passengers with 100 plus tons of fuel and it has an immediate engine failure on takeoff.
03:42If the switches were not in the on position, the aircraft would not have been able to start, taxi, line up and takeoff.
03:49So, we are ruling out in any way in my appreciation that the switches were in off position at any stage before flight.
03:58So, it means the switches are on.
03:59Otherwise, the aircraft wouldn't have been able to take off.
04:01Now, immediately after takeoff, something has happened which I am not sure what but engines have lost power and that is what is the report.
04:1120 days ago, the complete data was downloaded.
04:14There is a camera inside the 787 cockpit whose information is also stored in the FDR which the investigators may have which can collaborate what happened exactly.
04:24So, that once and finally the report comes but in my opinion, the GE, the Boeing Company, the Air India Maintenance and Air India Management should take into cognizance all the advisories that have been sent before we start continuing with this operation.
04:42After this report, I think there will be more questions asked as to why the engine failed because before this, there were so many questions to be asked or speculations were there.
04:59Definitely, the pilot community will be unanimous in its opinion that it is not an inadvertent action of moving the switches up and down.
05:09Okay, and the engines could shut automatically or electrical signals or the computer signals can be wrong but it cannot move the switches up and down.
05:21So, we need more clarity on it.
05:22Was it the fuel switch or was it the fuel shut off valve that the AIB means?
05:30Can it be something else from the aircraft side as well?
05:35Because it's a very, very huge thing.
05:37And when we talked about the Boeing, this particular aircraft, you have always defended this aircraft, sir.
05:43And I have always asked many questions from the point of view, from the dream pilot point of view, sir.
05:50Look, even with this particular accident, this continues to be the safety, as per the safety record, it continues to be the safest aircraft in the world.
06:00However, if there was a problem with the engine and or the engine logic system or the fuel supply logic system, I don't know.
06:12They need to investigate because things do go wrong and whether they go wrong because there was a design fault, then Boeing will have to do something about it.
06:24If it goes wrong because here the fuel switches cannot move on its own.
06:28Okay, sir, thank you so much for giving your time today and I, sir, we appreciate.
06:34Okay, very good morning.
06:38Once again, we are back with the report.
06:43AIB preliminary report has clarified few speculations which is out of the window now.
06:50There was no sabotage.
06:52There was no fuel contamination.
06:54There was no flap misconfiguration.
06:56There was no problem with the aircraft maintenance.
06:59Aircraft was producing full power and it achieved the right speed and it got airborne and first three seconds of its flight was absolutely normal.
07:11Now, this is conclusively proven by the AIB report.
07:15In the timestamp of 0842, that is three seconds after takeoff, the AIB report states that the power,
07:24the engine run cutoff switch, engine, fuel switch moved transitions from the run to cutoff within one second.
07:36That means within one second, this switch moved its position.
07:42There is no automatic movement of the switch.
07:46The switch is a physical switch and it cannot move inadvertently or because of any failure or because of any malfunction.
07:54What is conclusive is that at that particular instance, the aircraft stopped to produce power.
08:03It was producing 100% power or thrust and thereafter it has started to reduce power at which the AIB says the pilot asked the other pilot,
08:12why did you cut off the switch?
08:15Pilots said, I didn't do it.
08:17That means pilots were aware that the aircraft engine power has been lost and pilots also were aware
08:25that they did not do any action to cause this.
08:31From thereafter, for next 10 to 14 seconds, engines were not producing power and the aircraft eventually lost lift and speed
08:39and then it continued to descend.
08:40The AIB report says that the switch transitioned from off to run and aircraft was trying to start itself and in the process it went to collide.
08:54When it collided, the switch position was at the run position.
08:58The AIB report to me is only conclusive to say that the accident happened because both engines lost power.
09:11This stage is not there to find out why did it lose power, both did lose power.
09:19Any suggestion, any kind of a commentary, any kind of a speculation that pilots killed the engines three seconds after takeoff is totally incorrect.
09:33It is not a possibility.
09:34It is not a technical possibility that the switches which can be moved from one position to another on its own.
09:45Maybe the AIB should have clarified or maybe it will clarify in due course of time that it was not the fuel cutoff switch,
09:54but the fuel shutoff valve that probably switched off while the fuel cutoff switch continued to remain in its position.
10:04So that being said, I think one thing is conclusive that we have lost the power and the aircraft went down.
