BUSINESS NEWS Air India Boeing 787


Air India crash report flags serious concerns


Analysis: Interim finding focuses on fuel switches. Ian Taylor reports


An interim report on the air accident investigation into the fatal crash of an Air India Boeing 787 on take-off from Ahmedabad in India en route to Gatwick on June 12 has revealed that fuel switches to both engines were turned off, causing the aircraft to stall and crash, killing 229 passengers and 12 crew plus 19 people on the ground. It is an alarming development,


given neither pilot nor co-pilot appeared aware the switches had been turned off, according to a flight deck recording. The fuel supply to one


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engine resumed as the aircraft crashed – the other did not. Human error – in the cockpit or


on the ground before take-off – was initially considered the most likely cause of the crash, given the 787’s safety record. With a bird strike on one or both engines ruled out, human error or an act of sabotage remain the main crash theories. At least one UK media report


at the weekend posed the question of “sabotage or suicide”, after the preliminary report concluded: “Switches controlling fuel flow


to the jet’s two engines had been moved from ‘run’ to ‘cutoff’ position, hampering the thrust of the plane.” Neither theory has been ruled out,


with India having been at war with Pakistan for four days in late May, and a pilot of Lufthansa subsidiary Germanwings dying by suicide by crashing an Airbus A320 in 2015. Another disturbing possibility is


a problem with the 787’s software or electrical systems, which would have


Continued on page 54 travelweekly.co.uk


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