Investigation Discovers What Two Air India Pilots Said to Each Other Shortly Before Plane Crashed

• Investigators who combed through available flight data from the crashed Air India plane have shared their findings
• According to the report, the two pilots, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder, spoke to each other
• The investigation by the Indian Air Accident Investigation Bureau showed fuel supply to the plane's engines was cut

A preliminary report by the Indian Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has shared voice recordings from the cockpit of the crashed Air India plane.

The report has sought to establish what likely happened shortly before the fatal crash on June 12, which ended the lives of 241 people on board a Boeing 787.

The AAIB disclosed that the plane lost engine thrust after fuel supply control switches transitioned to the 'cut off' positions shortly after takeoff.

If the fuel control switches, which are labelled 'cut off' and 'run', are in the cut-off positions, the aircraft engines would fail to receive fuel.

If the switches are in the 'run' position, it means the airplane engines would be fed with fuel, which they should have been set to at the time.

What Air India pilots said on flight

According to the report, per Times of India, there was a brief exchange between the two pilots in charge of the Air India plane, which was headed for London's Gatwick Airport.

The report said one of the pilots asked the other why did he 'cut off', but the other pilot denied doing so.

The report states:

"The Engine N1 and N2 began to decrease from their take-off values as the fuel supply to the engines was cut off. In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cut-off. The other pilot responded that he did not do so."

Cockpit conversation of crashed Air India plane

The conversation was retrieved from the voice recordings in the cockpit, per Reuters, which are stored by the aircraft's black box.

The AAIB did not say which pilot made which remarks between Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder.

However, the report also stated that both the 'cut off' and 'run' switches were found to be in the right positions at the crash site.

It says:

“When fuel control switches are moved from CUTOFF to RUN while the aircraft is in flight, each engines full authority dual engine control automatically manages a relight and thrust recovery sequence of ignition and fuel introduction."

Experts said it was very rare for a pilot to move the fuel control switch to 'cut off' mid-flight when there was no need to do so, because the result would be immediate on the engines as they would stop receiving power, resulting in unmitigated disaster.

The AAIB report also did not blame the pilots directly.

American aviation safety expert John Nance, who spoke to CBS, commented:

"No sane pilot would ever turn those switches off in flight."

Air India continues to mourn after crash

Air India said it remained in deep mourning over the incident, which threw many families into sorrow.

"Air India remains in mourning on the tragic loss of 241 passengers and crew members aboard flight Al171. Our hearts are with the families, loved ones, and communities affected by the accident.

"Today, a month after the tragedy that profoundly impacted our community, our thoughts continue to be with the families and friends during this challenging time."

Lecturer of late pilot's speaks

Professor Urvashi, who taught Clive Kunder, one of the pilots who died in the Air India crash, said the man was very disciplined and brilliant, among other great qualities.

In her words:

"Clive was very brilliant student, very disciplined, very punctual, intelligent... His work was very neat, clean, very systematic, said Ms Urvashi, who thinks his "disciplined nature made him a successful pilot".

Lady claims God showed her plane crash

Meanwhile, Legit.ng also reported that a Nigerian lady claimed that she saw a vision of the Air India crash.

The lady, named Peace Ogbonna Daniel, wrote on social media that she saw the events play out like a movie.

She was also wracked with guilt because she failed to pray to prevent the tragedy despite what she saw.

Joseph Omotayo, the HOD of the Human Interest Desk, contributed to this report, referencing the comment from Clive Kunder's lecturer.

Proofreading by Bruce Douglas, copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng