The Indian Pilot Association defended the crew of the Air India Flight 171, which crashed in June, and 260 people were killed.
The Indian Commercial Pilot Association (ICPA) said the crew “acted in their training and responsibility under difficult conditions, and pilots should not be excited under guesses.”
“It is a major violation of ethical reports and the dignity of the profession,” he added.
The preliminary report did not accuse the pilots. A few seconds after the upswing, both Boeing 787 Dreamliner fuel control switches moved to the “cut” position by starving fuel engines.
The report published on Saturday provided detailed information about a cabin record with one pilot asks why it “did the boundary” to which others say he did not. The entry does not explain who said. The data show that the switches were transferred to the Run position, but the plane crashed in seconds.
Aviation experts and pilots say fuel switches are designed to prevent random activation and must be pulled into unlock before inverting. Protective protection holders continue to protect them from random bumps.
The preliminary report did not show any information about how the switches were transferred to the limit, but the units of the media and social media were released due to the unpleasant speculation of the role of pilots.
“We are greatly disturbed by speculative stories that occur in the media and public discourse sections – especially reckless and unreasonable insinuation of pilot suicide,” the Indian Commercial Pilot Association (ICPA) said in a statement published late Saturday night.
“Let us be unequivocally clear: there is no basis for such a lawsuit at this stage, and such a serious statement based on incomplete or preliminary information is not only irresponsible – it is very insensitive to related persons and families.”
The statement added that until the official investigation was completed and the final report was published, “any speculation, especially for this serious nature, is unacceptable and must be doomed.”
The pilots’ Union said “it surprised the secrecy related to these studies” [BBC]
The preliminary investigation was led by the Indian government, in which experts from Boeing, General Electric, Air India, Indian regulators and participants from the US and UK. The final report should appear within a year.
On Saturday, another group of pilots – the Indian Airline Pilot Association (Alpa India) – raised concern about how the investigation was conducted.
She stressed that the report also mentioned that 2018 December The US Federal Aviation Administration has released a special fitness ballot for suitability (SAB), emphasizing that some Boeing 737 fuel control switches were installed with a locking function.
Although this issue has been marked, it was not considered an insecure condition that requires the right of the Aircraft Directive (AD), a legally implemented regulation to correct the unsafe conditions of the product.
The same switches are used in the Boeing 787-8 aircraft, including the Air India VT-AB, which crashed. Since SAB was advised, Air India did not carry out recommended inspections.
In the light of the bulletin, Alpa India said “it is required more clearly whether the recommendations in the bulletin were implemented before the flight.” (Air India did not comment on the specific question.)
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said fuel control switches on Boeing were safe and noted that they were in 2018. The advice “was based on reports that fuel control switches were installed with a locking function that was cut off,” but added that it did not believe that it had done it in an unsafe.
Alpa India also said she “surprised the secrecy related to these studies” and said “properly qualified staff had not been taken to the probe ship.”
“We think the investigation is conducted in the direction, assuming that the fault is pilots and we are strictly contrary to this line of thought,” Sam Thomas, president of Alpa India, said in a statement.
The Union also urged the authorities to allow it to join the process “even observers to ensure the required transparency of the investigation.”
Following the announcement on Saturday’s release, the Indian Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu told reporters that he would “make no conclusions. Let’s wait for the final report.”
Describing Indian pilots and crew as “the spine of this civil aviation”, he said India had the “most amazing labor force in terms of pilots and crew worldwide”.
The 171 flight was taken from Western India city in Ahmedabad, Ahmedabad to Gatwick on June 12, on board 242 people. The accident killed 241 on board – one passenger miraculously survived – and 19 people on the ground.
The report states that Mumbai pilots had come to Ahmedabad last day and were properly attacked. They had passed breathing tests and were cleaned to fly, he adds.