No mechanical, maintenance issues found in Air India crash that killed 260 people: CEO

ANKARA

A preliminary report into an Air India plane that crashed in western India last month, killing 260 people, “found no mechanical or maintenance issues with the aircraft or engines,” according to Air India CEO Campbell Wilson.

The comments came after India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau released a preliminary report stating the aircraft’s engine fuel control switches transitioned to the “cut-off” position moments before the disaster.

In the crash involving 242 people aboard, only one survived after jumping from the plane. The passengers included 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian. The crash also caused 19 fatalities on the ground.

In an internal memo shared with staff, Wilson wrote that the preliminary report “found no mechanical or maintenance issues with the aircraft or engines, and that all mandatory maintenance tasks had been completed.”

He added: “There was no issue with the quality of fuel and no abnormality with the take off roll.”

Wilson confirmed that every Boeing 787 in Air India’s fleet was inspected within days of the accident, and all were found fit for service.

“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,” he said.

He stressed the report “provided both greater clarity and opened additional questions.”

Released last week, the report noted the aircraft reached a maximum recorded airspeed of about 180 knots. Immediately afterward, the fuel cutoff switches for both engines transitioned from the “run” to “cut-off” position within one second of each other.

In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why he cut off the fuel switch and the other pilot is heard responding that he didn’t.

The report said an investigation is continuing and the team “will review and examine additional evidence, records and information that is being sought from the stakeholders.”

Soon after the investigation, the Airline Pilots' Association of India said in a statement that the tone and direction of the preliminary report suggest a “bias toward pilot error.”

The group, rejecting the “presumption,” called for a “fair, fact based inquiry.”