Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Murlidhar Mohol, on Saturday said the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau’s (AAIB) report on the Air India flight AI 171 crash remains in its preliminary stages and “we cannot say anything definite at this point”.
Speaking to IANS in Pune, Mohol stressed that while the AAIB has made commendable progress, a conclusive assessment of the tragic Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crash—which occurred shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12—must await the final report.
“This is just the preliminary report, and I believe further investigation is still underway,” said the minister. “The AAIB has done commendable work. Earlier, if any helicopter accident occurred in the country, we had to send the black box abroad for analysis. Now, we have the facility in our own country.”
Mohol reiterated that no conclusions can be drawn until the investigation is complete. “Their work is still ongoing. Once the final report is released, it will be appropriate to comment,” he added.
In earlier remarks, Mohol had said the government was probing the AI 171 crash from all angles, including possible sabotage. “CCTV footage is being reviewed, and several agencies are involved,” he had noted, calling the incident a “rare case”.
According to the AAIB’s preliminary findings, both fuel control switches—responsible for supplying fuel to the engines—were turned off in quick succession, resulting in the shutdown of both engines during take-off. One of the pilots was recorded asking the other why the fuel was cut off, to which the second pilot reportedly replied that “he did not”.
Commenting on the findings, leading aviation consultant Mark Martin told IANS: “It is highly unlikely that any pilot, especially during takeoff, would want to meddle or fiddle around with switches behind the thrust levers. At best, you would focus on raising the landing gear or flaps.”
He added that it is crucial to wait for the final, comprehensive AAIB report before drawing any conclusions.
(Input from IANS)
