BBC News
RootsAn Air India passenger aircraft bound to London’s Gatwick Airport crashed soon after flying in Ahmedabad in western India on 12 June, killing 260 people.
The accident killed 242 people on the flight and 19 others on the ground, with only one survivor from the aircraft.
In the investigation published on July 12 in India, a preliminary report found that a few seconds after the take-off, the fuel-control switch suddenly went into a “cut-off” position, hungry fuel engines and triggered the total power loss.
The circumstances about how or why have happened remains unclear. Here we know till now.
When and where the aircraft crashed?
Air India said Air India flight AI171 left Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport of Ahmedabad on Thursday 12 June before local time (08:09 GMT).
It was to land at London Gatwick on 18:25 BST.
The flight was airing for less than 40 seconds. One of the pilots presented a May Day call just before the aircraft crashed in a crowded neighborhood.
The aircraft entered a building in a building, which was used as a resident of Bayramji Geebhoy Medical College and Civil Hospital, which led to the explosion. It was a lunch break in the hostel when some parts of the aircraft crashed through the roof of the dining hall.
According to Air India flight Flightradar24, the location climbed 625 feet in a clear season before losing data in 50 seconds.
What a preliminary report has said about the accident?
The fuel for the engines of the Air India aircraft involved in a deadly accident was cut off at the post-off moments, Preliminary report of the Bureau of Aircraft Investigation of India (AAIB) Has been found.
In the recovered cockpit voice recording, the report states that one of the pilots can be heard asking “Why did you bite?” – To which the other pilot replied that he “did not do so”.
The Gatwick-Bound Plane was being operated by Captain Sumit Sabarwal and co-pilot Clive Kunder. The report does not specify which voice is.
According to data from the flight recorder, both fuel control switches of the aircraft went into a second-off position in a second space, immediately after the take-off.
The switch is usually cut only during the tech -offs – instead of an emergency situations such as engine fire – to close the engines only after landing.
The AAIB report states that both engines lost their vigor due to the cut-off.
The fuel switch then moved back to its normal in-flight position, automatically began the process of relieving engines. An engine, reported in the report, was able to achieve vigorously – but could not reverse the aircraft recession.
One of the pilots presented a call to the aircraft on May 1, just before the aircraft crashed into the residence of doctors.
RootsThe report states that “no significant bird activity” was seen in the area around the flight road of the aircraft.
The report also states: “In this stage of investigation, there are no recommended action for B787-8 and/or GE Genx-1B engine operators and manufacturers”.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a special airworthiness information bulletin in 2019 stating that some Boeing 737 fuel control switches were installed with switch locking features, the report said in the report.
The issue was not considered an unsafe situation, which requires an airport instruction – a legally applied regulation.
The same switch design is used in Air India’s VT-NBB aircraft which crashed. Air India did not inspect as Bulletin Advisor.
The report said that VT-ANB had no faults related to fuel control switch since 2023.
An investigation led by AAIB is in progress – Boeing, General Electric, Air India, Indian regulators and experts from the US and UK participants.
A final, more detailed report is expected in 12 months.
How did Air India and Boeing react to the report?
An Air India spokesman said that the airline airline acknowledged the receipt of the initial report.
The Air India spokesman said, “We continue to cooperate fully with AAIB and other officials as their investigation increases. Given the active nature of the investigation, we are unable to comment on specific details and mention all such inquiries to AAIB.”
The accident is a major setback for Air India, which is in the midst of a business change after its privatization. It was purchased by the Tata Group from the Government of India in 2022.
The airline has announced a cut in international operations on its broad body aircraft as it struggles with several disruption after the accident.
In a statement, Boeing said that the United Nations would avoid AAIB to provide information about the aircraft crashed in adherence to the protocol under the International Civil Aviation Organization. It also said that this investigation and its customer kept supporting Air India.
The US National Transportation Safety Board in a statement thanked the Indian authorities for their cooperation and said that there was no recommended action in the report aimed at the Boeing -787 jets or GE engine operators.
Who was on the board?
Air India confirmed that Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner had 242 passengers and crew members, with a total of 256 seats.
The aircraft had 169 Indians, 53 Britain, seven Portuguese citizens, a Canadian and 12 crew.
“I still can’t believe how I made it alive,” the only survivor of the accident, Vishkumar Ramesh, who was sitting in the seat 11A, told the Indian state broadcaster DD News.
“First of all, I felt that I was going to die. I managed to open my eyes, embraced my seat belt and tried to get out of the aircraft.”
Shri Ramesh said that he was sitting on the edge of the plane, who did not hit the hostel and was close to the ground. “My door broke and I saw a small place,” he said. “I tried to get out of the plane.”
His brother Ajay was also on the plane, but could not escape the accident.
Downing Street said that the Foreign Office is in touch with Mr. Ramesh “to offer consular support”, Downing Street said.
What do we know about the aircraft?
The aircraft involved in it was Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.
The model was launched 14 years ago. Earlier this year, Boeing appreciated the fact that it had reached a milestone of carrying one billion passengers.
Air India operates a fleet of over 190 aircraft, including 58 Boeing aircraft, according to its website.
The crashed 787 Dreamliner was 11 years old and completed more than 700 flights a year, which was a pioneer for the disaster, showed by Flightradar24 data.
After the accident, India’s aviation regulator ordered a security check on the entire Boeing -787 fleet of the airline.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation also announced that from June 15, a check-off criteria would be implemented for each departure of Boeing 787-7 or 787-9 aircraft. Power assurance checks have also been implemented.
