No Proof To Suggest Sabotage, Bird Hit In Air India Plane Crash Report

A preliminary investigation report into the Air India plane crash that killed at least 274 people in Ahmedabad last month has not found any immediate evidence to suggest a possible sabotage or bird hit. "No significant bird activity is observed in the vicinity of the flight path," the report released by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) in the early hours of Saturday said. 

The report also did not mention any possible sabotage and instead indicated a possible fuel switch as the reason behind the crash that was one of the deadliest in recent times.

In a conversation with NDTV last month, Minister of State (MoS) For Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said all angles, including sabotage, were being probed in the case. "It (plane crash) was an unfortunate incident. The AAIB has begun a full investigation into it... It is being probed from all angles, including any possible sabotage. The CCTV footage are being reviewed and all angles are being assessed... several agencies are working on it," he said. 

In its first investigation report, the AAIB said both switches feeding fuel to the two engines of London-bound Air India flight 171 were cut off followed by pilot confusion before the aircraft crashed seconds after taking off on June 12. 

It said that one pilot asked why he had shut off the fuel, and the other responded he didn't do it.

"The aircraft achieved the maximum recorded airspeed of 180 Knots IAS at about 08:08:42 UTC and immediately thereafter, the Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of 01 sec," the report said.

As per the report, the engine N1 and N2 began to decrease from their take-off values as the fuel supply to the engines was cut off.

"In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so," it said.

The plane crashed into the residential quarters of BJ Medical College doctors in Meghaninagar area before going up in flames. Only one of the 242 passengers and crew members onboard survived the accident. The remaining victims were from those in the college and around the premises. Nine students and their relatives from the institute were among those who were killed in the accident on the ground.

In the report of the fatal accident, AAIB also said fuel samples taken from bowsers and tanks used to refuel the aircraft were tested at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation laboratory and were found satisfactory.