Don’t jump into any conclusions on AAIB preliminary report: Civil Aviation Minister

India’s Civil Aviation Minister urged patience as the AAIB’s preliminary report on the Air India crash in Ahmedabad indicates both engines were shut down. Officials stress it’s too early to draw conclusions until the final investigation findings are released

New Delhi: Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said on Saturday that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB)’s report on the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad is based on preliminary findings and one should not jump into conclusions till the final report is made public.

Speaking to reporters, he said we should now jump into any conclusions over this. “I believe we have the most wonderful workforce of pilots and crew in the whole world. I have to appreciate all the efforts the pilots and crew of the country are putting; they are the backbone of civil aviation,” said the Union Minister.

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“They are the primary resource of civil aviation. We care for the welfare and well-being of the pilots also. So let us not jump into any conclusions at this stage and wait for the final report,” he told reporters.

According to Naidu, there are technicalities involved. “It will be very premature to comment on the report. The preliminary has come in but we have to wait for something concrete to come in,” he noted.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Murlidhar Mohol, also said the report by the AAIB is still preliminary and “we cannot say anything definite at this point”.

Speaking to IANS on the report by AAIB into the fatal crash of Air India flight AI 171 — a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that went down shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12, the minister said this is just the preliminary report, and “I believe further investigation is still underway”.

“However, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (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,” said the minister. Mohol further said that since this is a preliminary report, we cannot say anything definite at this point.

According to the AAIB preliminary report, both fuel control switches supplying fuel to the engines of Air India flight 171 were turned off in quick succession, shutting down both engines. One of the pilots can be heard on the cockpit voice recorder, asking the other why he cut off the fuel, to which the other pilot responded by saying that “he did not”, the report mentioned.