India is set to send a delegation of accident investigators to Washington D.C. next week. Their mission is to examine the ongoing investigation into the tragic Air India crash that occurred in June, which resulted in the loss of 241 lives.
Indian Team to Scrutinize US Investigation Data
According to a Bloomberg report citing a source familiar with the matter, the Indian group will analyze all the information gathered to date by the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The team plans to present its own analysis, which will be based on evidence from the aircraft's cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR).
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), leading India's side of the probe, will participate in the review meeting at the NTSB headquarters. The meeting is also expected to include representatives from other organizations involved in the investigation, such as aircraft manufacturer Boeing.
When contacted, the NTSB stated it had no information to share currently and directed inquiries to Indian authorities. Boeing also redirected questions to the AAIB. Attempts to get comments from the AAIB and India's aviation ministry over the weekend were not successful.
Underlying Tensions and Pilot Union Concerns
This development comes amid reports of growing friction between Indian and American authorities regarding how the investigation is being conducted. Simultaneously, pilots' unions in India have strongly opposed any suggestions that pilot error could have been a cause of the disaster.
The preliminary findings indicated a critical sequence of events. Shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad, the fuel-control switches on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner were turned off. This action caused the engines to lose power, putting the aircraft in an unrecoverable situation. Although the switches were turned back on approximately ten seconds later, it was too late to avert the catastrophe.
Unresolved Questions and the Path Forward
Bloomberg noted that investigators have not yet reached a final conclusion. However, some information from the cockpit voice recordings has emerged. The recordings reportedly captured the younger co-pilot, who was flying the plane during take-off, questioning the captain about why he turned off the switches. The captain, in response, denied having done so.
The AAIB has emphasized that more concrete details will only be available upon the release of the final report. The bureau has urged the public and media to refrain from drawing definitive conclusions until the investigation is complete.
