Pilots’ chilling final moments before Air India crash killed 260

The official crash report disclosed the chilling cockpit voice recording from moments before Air India Flight 171 plunged to the ground in Ahmedabad, with investigators pointing to a fuel switch error

A year ago today, 260 people died in the catastrophic Air India disaster.

Air India Flight 171 departed from Vallabhbai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, on June 12, destined for London.

The aircraft carried 230 passengers and 12 crew members, but just 32 seconds following take-off, it plummeted horrifically into student accommodation just a mile from the airport.

All aboard died save for one man, while 19 people on the ground also lost their lives. An additional 67 people sustained severe injuries.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, a deeply troubling revelation has emerged: five harrowing words exchanged between the pilots of the doomed Air India aircraft have now been revealed, reports the Express.

The disturbing particulars of the cockpit exchange that happened moments before the Air India plane met its tragic fate were disclosed in the official report issued by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau late on Friday.

Information extracted from the black box had previously established that within less than 60 seconds of leaving Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, the aircraft descended and collided with a building serving as doctors’ accommodation at BJ Medical College and Civil Hospital.

Investigators suspect that the Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s fuel flow switches for both engines were erroneously switched almost concurrently, mere seconds post take-off, severing the fuel supply and precipitating the calamitous incident as both engines ceased functioning.

The harrowing words recorded on the cockpit voice recorder have been confirmed by the report: “In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other “why did you cut off?” The other pilot responded that he did not do so.”

The report goes on: “At about 08:09:05 UTC, one of the pilots transmitted ‘Thrust not achieved… falling… MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY’. The ATCO enquired about the call sign. ATCO did not get any response but observed the aircraft crashing outside the airport boundary and activated the emergency response.”

The exchange between the pilots in the cockpit has sparked a crucial question amongst the aviation industry about the crash.

Experts are asking how the fuel switches could have been accidentally flipped during flight, especially given they are intentionally built to be ‘highly reliable’ and constructed precisely to avoid unintended activation.

To disengage each lever, it must first be lifted upwards before it can be switched. They’re also fitted with protective guard brackets to shield against accidental knocks or contact.

A Canada-based air accidents investigator told the BBC: “It would be almost impossible to pull both switches with a single movement of one hand, and this makes accidental deployment unlikely.”

US aviation safety expert John Cox reiterated: “You can’t bump them [the fuel switches that feed the engines] and they move.”

Based on the investigators’ initial assessment, there’s no indication of any glaring fault with the Boeing plane or its engines, suggesting that neither GE, who manufactured the engines, nor Boeing will face liability for the crash.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau report also discloses the jet was loaded with 54,200kg of fuel, comfortably within the ‘allowable limits’. Fuel samples extracted from the aircraft’s refuelling were likewise deemed ‘satisfactory’.

The report went on to state: “The aircraft achieved the maximum recorded airspeed of 180 Knots IAS at about 08:08:42 UTC and immediately thereafter, the Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of 01 sec.

“The Engine N1 and N2 began to decrease from their take-off values as the fuel supply to the engines was cut off. In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so.”

However, the report falls short of clearly establishing how the switch – normally employed to start and shut down the engines and routinely left on throughout flight – could have shifted to its cutoff position.

The preliminary conclusions centre on the alarming finding that the aircraft’s engine fuel flow switches were mysteriously shut off after takeoff, causing an apparent thrust failure moments after the plane ascended into the air.

In a tragic sequence of events, the commercial aircraft’s emergency power generator appeared to have activated mere moments before it plummeted to the ground, resulting in the deaths of all bar one of the 242 people aboard.

The ill-fated Flight AI171 had scarcely reached around 625 feet in altitude when it smashed into a medical college site, also claiming lives on the ground.

Despite initial theories, the AAIB’s preliminary findings have now dismissed the prospect of bird strikes triggering dual engine failure, as there was “no bird activity” in the Ahmedabad area at the moment of the disaster.

The report states: “No significant bird activity is observed in the vicinity of the flight path. The aircraft started to lose altitude before crossing the airport perimeter wall.”

The damage evaluation presents harrowing details; the report says: “The Aircraft was destroyed due to impact with the buildings on the ground and subsequent fire. A total of five buildings were impacted and suffered major structural and fire damages.”

Chronicling the aircraft’s last seconds, the report discloses: “As the aircraft was losing altitude, it initially made contact with a series of trees and an incineration chimney inside the Army Medical Corps compound before impacting the northeast wall of the first building.”

The devastation persisted as the plane fragmented further while colliding with more structures and nearby foliage.

The report states: “As the aircraft moved forward, it continued fragmenting and collided with other structures and vegetation. The impact witness marks on the building and airplane indicated a likely nose-up attitude (about 8°) and wings level.”

British citizen Vishwash Kumar Ramesh emerged as the sole survivor from amongst the 242 passengers and crew travelling on the Boeing Dreamliner, remarkably making it out of the wreckage albeit with injuries.

The concluding report verifies that he has subsequently given a statement to investigators.