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The preliminary report on the June 12 Air India crash may be released today, a report has claimed, with investigators focusing on fuel control switches and engine thrust issues.
Ahmedabad: A crane being used to clear the debris of the crashed Air India plane (Photo: PTI)
The preliminary report from the investigation into the June 12 Air India plane crash is likely to be made public by today, Reuters reported.
On Wednesday, news agency ANI too reported that senior officials of the Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) told a parliamentary panel that the preliminary report is likely to be placed in the public domain in the next few days.
However, there was no official confirmation on the release of the probe report.
Nearly a month into the plane crash near the Ahmedabad airport, the investigation had narrowed its focus to the movement of the plane’s fuel control switches, a report with Reuters had suggested, adding, that it also focused on engine thrust issues.
Last month, the investigators had told a meeting of lawmakers that the plane’s black boxes were not damaged.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has also been able to extract “good data” from the black boxes, its officials told lawmakers on July 9 during a parliamentary panel meeting on aviation, Reuters quoted sources as saying.
The plane’s cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR), as the black boxes are formally known, were recovered in the days after the crash, one from a rooftop at the site on June 13, and the other from debris on June 16.
Air India has faced intense scrutiny since the crash. Its chief executive, Campbell Wilson, appeared before the committee, and the airline gave updates on its efforts after the crash.
The crash, one of the worst air disasters in India in decades, involved a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner operating as Air India flight AI171. Bound for London, it crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, killing more than 250 people.
The investigation is being led by the AAIB Director General and includes experts from the Indian Air Force, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), and the US-based National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is the designated investigation body from the country of the aircraft’s design.
Aviation medicine and air traffic control experts are also a part of the team.
This is the first time India is decoding black box data domestically, ANI quoted officials as saying.
Meanwhile, Air India said it has paid the compensation to families of nearly two-thirds of the victims who died in the plane crash.
Tata Sons is in the process of establishing the apparatus to provide longer-term assistance to the families and survivors, the Tata Group-owned airline said.
ALSO READ | PIB Fact Checks Viral ‘Preliminary Investigation Report’ On AI-171 Crash
Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.
Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.
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