U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) head Jennifer Homendy warned against speculation in the investigation of the Air India Flight 171 crash, which killed people, after reports in the media that the captain had inadvertently cut fuel to the plane's engines.
"Investigations of this size take time," Homendy wrote on social media site X Friday. She characterized recent press reports as "premature and speculative," although she did not name any particular outlet or story.
The June 12 Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash killed 260. India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is investigating, with assistance from the NTSB. AAIB and Air India CEO Campbell Wilson have asked the public to refrain from speculation as long as the investigation continues.
Authorities normally take a minimum of a year or even longer to release a final report identifying the probable cause of serious aviation accidents and making safety recommendations to avert recurrence.
Investigators found that two switches, which govern the fuel supply to the engines, were moved to the "cutoff" position shortly after takeoff, shutting off the fuel supply to the engines, according to an initial report by the AAIB. While the switches were restored about 10 seconds later, the aircraft already had no thrust, causing the deadly crash.
A voice recorder found in the wreckage recorded a dialogue between the pilots seconds after takeoff. One pilot, according to Bloomberg and others, was First Officer Clive Kunder, and he had asked the other, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, why the switches had been switched. Sabharwal said he hadn't touched them, according to reports.
Officials are currently attempting to ascertain if the switches were operated by intentional or accidental human intervention or by a potential systems failure. What initiated the fuel shutdown is at the heart of the ongoing investigation.
Following the revelation in the preliminary report, India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has directed checks on fuel control switches on all Indian Boeing 787 and 737 planes to eliminate possible equipment failure.
As of now, investigators have discovered nothing pointing to mechanical faults or design issues in the plane or its engines, made by GE Aerospace.
The complete picture of the cause of the crash will probably take months to come, as Indian as well as American regulators keep studying data and investigating every conceivable cause.
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