No mechanical fault in Air India crash, says CEO citing AAIB report

Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said the AAIB’s preliminary report on the Ahmedabad crash found no mechanical or maintenance faults with the Boeing 787-8 aircraft

New Delhi: Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson on Monday said AAIB’s preliminary report on the Ahmedabad plane crash last month found no mechanical or maintenance issues with the aircraft or engines, and that all mandatory maintenance tasks had been completed.

Amid speculations in various quarters about the reasons for the fatal crash that killed 260 people on June 12, the Air India chief said the preliminary report identified no cause nor made any recommendations and urged everyone to avoid drawing premature conclusions as the investigation is far from over.

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The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on Saturday released its preliminary report on the crash of Air India’s Boeing 787-8 plane that killed 260 people, including 241 people onboard. The aircraft, which was operating the flight AI171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, crashed into a building soon after takeoff.

In a message to Air India staff, Wilson on Monday said the preliminary report found no mechanical or maintenance issues with the aircraft or engines, and that all mandatory maintenance tasks had been completed.

“There was no issue with the quality of fuel and no abnormality with the takeoff roll. The pilots had passed their mandatory pre-flight breathalyser and there were no observations pertaining to their medical status,” he said.

Further, Wilson said out of an abundance of caution and under the oversight of regulator DGCA, every Boeing 787 aircraft operating in our fleet was checked within days of the accident and all were found fit for service.

“We continue to perform all necessary checks, as we will any new ones that authorities may suggest,” he added. The airline, he said, will continue to co-operate with the investigators to ensure they have everything they need to conduct a thorough and comprehensive enquiry.

“The release of the preliminary report marked the point at which we, along with the world, began receiving additional details about what took place. Unsurprisingly, it provided both greater clarity and opened additional questions,” Wilson said.

Over the past 30 days, he said there has been an ongoing cycle of theories, allegations, rumours and sensational headlines, many of which have later been disproven. “Until a final report or cause is tabled, there will no doubt be new rounds of speculation and more sensational headlines… Let us not be diverted from what are our top priorities: standing by the bereaved and those injured, working together as a team, and delivering a safe and reliable air travel experience to our customers around the world,” Wilson said.

He also stressed that the airline must remain focused on its task and be true to the values of integrity, excellence, customer focus, innovation, and teamwork. The AAIB report said the fuel supply to both engines of flight AI171 was cut off within a second of each other, causing confusion in the cockpit and the airplane plummeting back to the ground almost immediately after taking off.

The 15-page report also said that in the cockpit voice recording, one unidentified pilot asked the other why he had cut off the fuel, which the other denied. On Sunday, the Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association (ICPA) said the crew of the AI171 flight that crashed last month acted in line with their training and responsibilities under challenging conditions, and the pilots should not be vilified based on conjecture.