US Media Statement Deemed Irresponsible
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), India’s investigating agency, labelled the Wall Street Journal report as irresponsible, stating that it represents a premature attempt to reach a conclusion. The Indian agency is currently meticulously investigating all possible aspects of the accident, including technical malfunctions, design flaws, and the pilots’ mental state, and has not yet reached any conclusions. Previously, the US investigating agency had hastily issued a statement denying any malfunction in the Boeing aircraft’s fuel switch without conducting a proper investigation.Pilots’ Federation Condemns US Media
While no official statement has yet been released by Boeing, Air India, or India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Captain C.S. Randhawa, President of the Federation of Indian Pilots, has issued a statement strongly condemning the US media report. Randhawa stated that the US media report is entirely inaccurate and that the AAIB report makes no such mention. He accused them of preemptively assigning blame to the pilots without having read the report. The pilots involved in the accident were Captain Sumit Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder. Captain Sabharwal had 15,638 hours of flight experience, and First Officer Kunder had 3,403 hours. Last week, India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau released a preliminary report indicating a state of confusion in the cockpit immediately before the accident. This report raised further questions about the position of the engine fuel cut-off switch.
