Fresh controversy has erupted over the fatal Air India crash in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad last month. A Wall Street Journal report claims a cockpit recording reveals the captain cut off the aircraft’s fuel midair, moments after takeoff. The first officer, reportedly panicked, questioned the captain’s move, as per the leaked cockpit transcript. Both pilots, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder, were killed along with 240 others onboard and 19 on the ground—only one person survived. While the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's (AIIB) preliminary report confirms both fuel switches were turned off within a second, it doesn’t state whether the action was accidental or deliberate. India’s Civil Aviation Minister urged restraint, saying no conclusions should be drawn yet. The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has strongly condemned the US media report, calling it speculative and harmful. Meanwhile, Air India completed checks on the Fuel Control Switches in all Boeing 787s with no issues found.
00:00Neither the report nor the Minister for Civil Aviation have said that it is a pilot error.
00:29They have said in the report that there are two issues that fuel control switches have
00:39been presumed to have gone to shut off and run.
00:46And they have also explained in the CVR recording that the pilots are denying of doing such
00:54an action.
00:56So I once again reiterate the electrical issue which I have been voicing my opinion and
01:04earlier also I have given it on the ANI that that is the main issue.
01:11You must relate this accident to the incident of the ANA Airlines NH-985 which happened on
01:2117th of January 19, 2019 flight from Haneda Tokyo to Osaka airport.
01:33When on landing when the pilots selected the thrust reversers both the engines shut down
01:38without the pilots moving the fuel control switch.
01:42This is a I am quite clear this is a repetition of the TCMA malfunction which I have explained
01:51earlier what is TCMA and this needs a thorough investigation of the TCMAs.
01:59So secondly in the investigation committee there is not a single pilot.
02:09We have been requesting the Minister Honourable Minister for Civil Aviation that to reconstitute
02:17the board and include type rated rated experts experts experts who are pilots, engineers and air safety experts who need to be there in this
02:22committee committee there is not a single pilot.
02:24We have been requesting the Minister Honourable Minister for Civil Aviation that to reconstitute
02:29the board and include type rated rated experts experts experts experts who are pilots engineers and air safety experts who need to be there in this investigation board and it must be reconstituted since the inquiry is now going to take it will be done in detail and there is a requirement that
