Details of the final exchange between late Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder aboard Air India flight 171 have emerged, according to a report by Corriere della Sera. The plane lifted off the runway at 1:38:39 pm, but the engines were defuelled at 1:38:42 pm when the plane was travelling at 3330 kmph.
The Italian daily, citing sources familiar with the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), claims that the recording captures Captain Sabharwal purportedly cutting off fuel to the left engine, followed by the right, at 1:38:42 p.m.
Roughly two seconds later, the report says, First Officer Kunder can be heard asking, “Why did you shut off the engines?” The captain reportedly responded by denying the action. According to the Corriere, Kunder appeared increasingly alarmed and repeated the question several times over the next six seconds.
Corriere della Sera attributes the details to sources with direct knowledge of the black box recordings. These claims could not be independently verified.
Here’s what transpired on the ill-fated AI171 flight, as per the report:
1:38:42 PM: Captain cut off the fuel flow to the left engine and then the right engine.
1:38:44 PM: the first officer asked “Why did you shut off the engines?”
A second later, the other microphone, assigned to the captain’s seat, recorded a vague “I didn’t do it.” FO was unconvinced and asked several more times, for another 6 seconds.
1:38:47 PM: Alternate power source (RAT) is deployed.
1:38:52 PM: FO returns the fuel switch from “Cutoff” to “Run” on left engine which starts relight.
1:38:56 PM: Kunder returns engine 2 to “Run”.
1:39:50 PM: Mayday is called.
At 1:39:11 pm, the black boxes stopped recording, and later, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into the medical college hostel near the Ahmedabad airport. The plane crash claimed the lives of 260 people, including 19 who were in the medical hostel building reduced to rubble because of the crash.
Meanwhile, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said that the investigation into the plane crash is still in its early stages. NTSB chairperson Jennifer Homendy described the foreign media coverage of the incident as “premature and speculative”.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau — an independent body under India’s civil aviation ministry — has urged the public and media to avoid rushing to conclusions on the probe into the plane crash.
Citing the AAIB’s preliminary report, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said there were no maintenance or mechanical issues that led to the Air India crash. “The Preliminary Report identified no cause nor made any recommendations, so I urge everyone to avoid drawing premature conclusions as the investigation is far from over,” said Wilson.
Moreover, the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) has also initiated legal action against The Wall Street Journal and Reuters over their reportage suggesting pilot error or confusion inside the cockpit as the cause of the air crash.
The FIP demanded an official apology from the WSJ and Reuters over “selective and unverified reporting”. The federation said such reportage was “irresponsible,” especially when the probe is still ongoing. The investigation into the Ahmedabad plane crash is currently underway by AAIB with support from the NTSB.
The investigation into the Ahmedabad plane crash is currently underway by AAIB with support from the NTSB.
