Fresh details from the investigation into the Air India AI171 flight that crashed while taking off from the Ahmedabad airport were revealed today when the Wall Street Journal, citing officials from the American NTSB who were part of the investigation, claimed it was the First Officer Clive Kunder, who was heard asking the Captain Sumeet Sabharwal why he switched the fuel switches to the cut-off position, on the cockpit voice recorder. The report also states that the first officer, who was the pilot in charge, panicked, while the captain remained calm throughout the entire episode leading up to the crash.
The report leaves no doubt that the switches were deliberately moved. Although it cites unnamed sources, the possibility that a malfunction caused the plane's crash is now increasingly unlikely, given everything we know so far. India’s official body, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, has responded to the report as “irresponsible” and it is “too early to reach any definite conclusions.”
The AAIB also called on the media to “respect the sensitivity of family members of deceased passengers, crew and others who died on the ground due to the crash.” Crucially, the AAIB has not contradicted the WSJ report or any of its findings and instead only asked for patience until the investigation is completed.
On one hand, it is understandable why the official interim report has deliberately not released transcripts from the cockpit voice recorder, or has chosen to identify which pilot asked the other why he cut off the fuel switches. At this stage in an investigation, unless one is without an iota of doubt that the plane was indeed deliberately crashed, identifying the pilot who allegedly did so would be unfair to him and his family since he is no longer around to defend himself.
It is a matter of regret that details behind the plane crash are coming out through such unofficial sources in bits and pieces. It gives the impression that the Indian authorities are deliberately concealing information, which has ended up being worse for the family members of the crew -- especially those of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal -- who now have to live with the question, and a degree of suspicion. It would also be wise for the Indian authorities, who are familiar with the investigation, to consider the possibility of launching a criminal investigation into the crash.
But undoubtedly, the worst reaction has come from the Federation of Indian Pilots, who have slammed the WSJ report, going to the extent of “condemning” it and accusing it of trying to assign blame “before a thorough, transparent, and data-driven investigation.”
The pilots' association, in trying to defend their members, are also trying to delude themselves that since Indian pilots are “among the best in the world”, they are beyond weakness. There is no doubt that the facts of the accident are already apparent. All that remains is official confirmation, which will no doubt come, no sooner than the investigation rules out every other possibility, which -- understandably -- will take some time.
Irrespective of whether the WSJ report is true or not, the pilots' association would be wise to ask airlines to prioritise mental health check-ups of their members and for better service conditions that ensure that they get the help that such a stressful, demanding job deserves. By trying to “condemn” the WSJ report, the association may only be doing a huge disservice to the flying public and India at large.
