New Delhi, 13 July (IANS). Former Director and Group Captain Aurobindo Handa, former director of the aircraft accident investigation (AAIB), said the initial report of the Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner accident in Ahmedabad is not enough to determine the exact cause of the accident and investigators should not conclude at this level.
A few seconds after the Air India aircraft AI 171 flying, a medical college hostel collided and crashed, causing 241 passengers and crew members aboard the aircraft, while 19 others died on the ground.
A preliminary report released by AAIB on Saturday said that both the fuel cut-off switch of the aircraft had reduced the thrust of the two engines after the ‘cutoff’ position. However, the cockpit voice recorder has shown that one pilot had told the other that he did not close the fuel control switches. The fuel switches were again in the run position just before the aircraft crashed.
Handa said that a factual timeline has been presented in the report, but it is not mentioned what was the cause of failure.
During a panel discussion on the NDTV profit, he said, “The report has come out, but only the facts are what happened in those 30 seconds. It is not a decisive report.”
He also stated that initial and final conclusions in the investigation of air accident often vary and require intensive technical analysis.
“We have seen the initial and final conclusions and most of them are different in most investigations,” he said.
Handa said that AAIB is expected to use the elimination process to dismiss working systems before identifying the most possible cause. According to the criteria set by the International Civil Aviation Organization, the final report on aircraft accidents has to be submitted within 12 months.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu also said on Saturday that the report of the aircraft accident investigation on the Air India accident is based on preliminary conclusions and urged not to reach any conclusion until the final report was released.
-IANS
ABS/
