The discovery of Air India's tragic crash one of the pilots deactivated the fuel control keys?

Just seconds after takeoff, the two fuel control keys of the Boeing 787 12-year-old Dreamlinker were suddenly transferred to the “ct-off” (stop), cutting power supply and causing complete loss of power. This is a movement usually made only after landing.

Voice recording from the cabin picked up a pilot telling the other: “Why did you cut it off?”, while the answer was: “I didn't do it.” It's not clear who said what. At the time of his departure, he was the bastard flying the plane while the captain was monitoring the flight.

The keys returned to the normal flight position, automatically reactivating engines. At the time of the crash, one engine was regaining momentum while the other was on fire but had not yet regained its power.

Investigators are analyzing the remains of the aircraft and records from the cabin to find out what happened right after the lift. According to the FlightRadar24 page, the plane reached an altitude of 625 feet (about 190 m) in clear weather conditions before losing its signal in about 50 seconds.

The preliminary report, led by Indian authorities with experts from Boeing, General Electric, Air India, Indian regulators and participants from the United States and Britain, raises many questions.

Investigators explain that fuel keys have a safety mechanism that seeks to pull back before moving, making accidental activity very difficult. They are also protected by metal structures to prevent deliberate contact.

“would be almost impossible to activate both keys with a single hand move, which makes it very impossible to be accidental,” said one Canadian investigator for BBC)Sorted in opening order.

If one of the pilots has shut down the fuel itself, knowingly or not, <x0Wgre asking the question, why?”, said Shawn Pruchnikki, former accident suspect and aviation expert at Ohio University.

Was it a deliberate act or just confusion? This seems to be a little reliable, since there were no reports of any unusual situation by pilots. In case of emergency cabins, pilots are likely to press the wrong buttons, but there is no indication here that the fuel keys are affected by error. ”

Peter Goelz, former director of the National Accident Investigation Board in the United States (NTSB), called “disturbing “the discovery that a pilot could have turned off the fuel immediately after take off.

“The suggestion someone in the cabin did that is alarming. But the only sentence why you cut off your keys is not enough. We need to know more about your voice recording. Who did the action? And why?

Voice recorder, including pilot microphones, radio calls and cabin noises, are expected to be key to the puzzle.

“ande entries have not been identified. Normally, when the recording is heard, there are people present who know pilots to help identify voices. So far, we still don't know which pilot turned the keys into a Kict-off and then back into normal position,” Goelz said.

According to investigators, it needs to be:

Clear identification of voices;

Full cabin transcript with speakers' names;

and review of all communications from the moment the plane was launched from door to crash.

They also require the location of cameras in the cabin, as recommended by the NTSB, to see who touched the key.

Both pilots and crew had passed their drinking tests and were fit to fly. They had stayed in Ahmedabad the day before the flight and had had enough time to rest.

An interesting point in the report mentions a technical bulletin issued by the FAA in December 2018, stressing that some Boeing 737 keys could have been installed with the deadlock mechanism.

Although this was observed, it was not considered serious enough to issue a binding air directive. This key design was also used in Boeing 787-8, including Air India's crash plane (VT-ANB). Since the recommendation was only advisory, Air India did not take suggested control.

Pruchnikki asks questions: “If the key can turn off with a single movement when the deadlock is not active, then this is a very serious matter. If not, this too should be clarified. ”

Others are not convinced that this is the main issue. I haven't heard any pilots complain about these keys and usually pilots are quick to raise concerns,” said Goelz.

Another investigative track is whether the blackout was triggered electronically by the aircraft control unit.

If the keys are activated by the computer without the pilot's physical interference, then we have a serious problem,”, Indian detective Kishor Chita told BBC.

Fuel samples were estimated as satisfactory “”, excluding contamination as the cause of double engine failure. So far, no warning has been issued for the Boeing 787 model or for G engines GEnx-1B, while mechanical failure is currently excluded.

The report also cites the activism of Ram Air Turbine (RAT) a clear indication of the system's failure. And aircraft wheels were still mined.

THREE is an emergency turbine that comes out automatically when both engines lose power or when plumbing pressure falls to a critical level to provide the minimum energy for essential flight systems.

According to a Boeing 787 pilot, the wheels are usually attracted within eight seconds at an altitude of about 400 feet. He feels that in this case the pilot did not have time to react.

When both engines fail and the plane falls, the body does not respond only to shock. Your focus is only on the flight route. /Periscope