How did the Air India flight AI171, scheduled to fly from Ahmedabad to London on 12 June, crash almost instantly after take-off?
The preliminary report, published by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) late on Friday night, confirms that both engines of the aircraft shut down within seconds of take-off.
An excerpt from the report noted:
"The aircraft achieved the maximum recorded airspeed of 180 Knots IAS (Indicated Airspeed) at about 08:08:42 UTC (Universal Time - 1:38 pm IST) 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 Engine N1 and N2 began to decrease from their take-off values as the fuel supply to the engines was cutoff. 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'."
The report does not identify which pilot made the remarks, but states, according to the BBC, that the switches were then moved back to their normal in-flight position. This would have automatically initiated the process of reviving the engines.
The report observes that one engine was “in the process of regaining thrust at the time the aircraft crashed. The other was relit but was not yet regaining thrust.”
The preliminary report did not find any “significant fault with the plane or its engines.” The report also underlined that no conclusions have been drawn and that the investigation is ongoing.
It noted: “At this stage of investigation, there are no recommended actions to B787-8 and/or GE GEnx-1B engine operators and manufacturers,” suggesting no significant technical fault has been identified.
In its 15-page report, the AAIB said that wreckage site activities, including drone photography and videography, had been completed, and the debris moved to a secure area near the airport. “Both engines were retrieved from the wreckage site and quarantined at a hangar in the airport,” it said.
“Components of interest for further examinations have been identified and quarantined,” it added.
On 12 June, Air India’s Boeing 787-8 aircraft operating flight AI171 en route to London Gatwick crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad, killing 265 people, including 241 passengers and crew on board.
Among the 241 dead were 169 Indians, 52 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals, one Canadian, and 12 crew members. The lone ‘miracle’ survivor of the crash was Vishwashkumar Ramesh, a British national.
It was also the first time that the best-selling wide-body Dreamliner, or Boeing 787, suffered a fatal accident resulting in hull loss.
