- 2 days ago
In this edition of Newstrack, the focus is on the investigation into the Air India 171 crash. A Wall Street Journal report, citing cockpit recordings from a preliminary AAIB report, claimed the pilot may have switched off the fuel control switches.
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00:00US media resorts to pilot blaming again.
00:09US media probes zeroes in on pilot.
00:19Refers to cockpit audio as proof.
00:29The pilots union lashes out.
00:46Time to stop the finger pointing.
00:50AI-171 crash decoding pilot role.
00:59That is our top focus on Newstrak.
01:01Good evening. You're watching Newstrak here on India Today.
01:06This evening we're going to be focusing on the latest updates coming in on the investigation into the Air India 171 crash.
01:13You've heard a whole lot of theories.
01:15There's only a preliminary report that's been out.
01:17And about that based on that alone international media has gone into a flurry of speculation.
01:23And each one of those reports, conveniently enough, pointing fingers at the pilots.
01:28No questions being asked of Boeing.
01:30No questions being asked about whether it's a technical failure.
01:33We're going to be talking about that.
01:34I'm Akshita Nanda Gopal. Let's begin with the headlines.
01:36Air accident investigation body dismisses international media reports.
01:45Blaming AI-171 pilots says don't report unverified facts.
01:49Urges against creating angst towards aviation industry.
01:53Two reports, two clean chits to Sidramaya government in Bengaluru's Stampede probe.
02:03Judicial report says social media posts led to chaos.
02:06RCB and Karnataka Cricket Association to face criminal charges.
02:16Marwadi shopkeeper in Mumbai thrashed by Raj Thakere's party men for anti-Marathi post.
02:21Shopkeeper forced to publicly apologize.
02:29Ten-year-old child abducted and sexually assaulted in Tiruvannur of Tamil Nadu.
02:34Five days on, no arrest.
02:36State government forms probe team to nab the assaulter.
02:40India today accesses image of the accused.
02:42India arranges consular access for Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya on death row in Yemen.
02:52MESS India in touch with friendly governments and local authorities.
02:55It's been over a month since the tragic AI-171 crash, which claimed 260 lives.
03:09And now the focus is on a report by the Wall Street Journal.
03:13It sparked a mix of emotions and reactions.
03:17This report, the Wall Street Journal has put out as its exclusive,
03:21in which they've cited cockpit recordings, by the way,
03:24which was mentioned in the preliminary report as well,
03:26the investigative report by the AAIB.
03:28But Wall Street Journal has referred to these cockpit recordings
03:31and has claimed that the pilot of the Air India, the captain of this flight, Sabarwal,
03:37may have switched off the fuel control switches, which therefore led to the fatal crash.
03:42Is there any new information that suggests this?
03:45What's led to the WSJ putting out this article?
03:48Well, let's just say that it's on the preliminary report, the AAIB report,
03:52which did speak of the conversation, a cockpit recording, a very short one that's known.
03:56Based on that, the Wall Street Journal has now come and said that, look, the pilot's role is being looked into.
04:01Now, the pilots' union back home has strongly objected to this character assassination,
04:06as they put it, of the pilot, claiming that the preliminary report doesn't mention any error or action.
04:11And so at this point, pointing fingers at the pilot is simply wrong. It isn't right.
04:16And that's what the Pilots Association has been maintaining all along.
04:19Don't jump the gun. Stop the speculation about the pilot's role.
04:22And that's not all. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, the AAIB that I was referring to,
04:28they've also, the ones who conducted the preliminary investigation and submitted a report on the same,
04:33they've also questioned the US media, the Wall Street Journal and others for the selective unverified reportage.
04:39They've also asked the media to not come to any definitive conclusions until the investigation is complete.
04:46Before I bring in our panelists to weigh in on this matter, let's get you all the details first in this report.
04:52June 12th, flight Air India 171. A routine journey becomes one of India's worst aviation tragedies.
05:13Just 32 seconds after take-off, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner plunged to the ground near Ahmedabad Airport,
05:26killing 241 of the 242 people on board.
05:31The preliminary accident report released by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, AAIB, offered few answers.
05:44But what it did reveal only deepened the mystery. Fuel supply to both engines were cut off just three seconds into the flight
05:53and a puzzling conversation between the pilots. Now, chilling details are emerging from inside the cockpit.
06:04A Wall Street Journal report citing sources in the United States with access to the black box
06:09claims to fill in some of the blanks left by the AAIB report.
06:14The Wall Street Journal article claims it was Captain Sumit Sabarwal who moved the fuel cut-off switches.
06:21According to the report, First Officer Clive Kundar was surprised and then panicked.
06:26Captain Sabarwal, meanwhile, appeared calm.
06:30The journal adds that Kundar, as the pilot actively flying the aircraft, would have had his hands full on the controls,
06:36while Captain Sabarwal, as the pilot monitoring, would likely have had his hands free.
06:42The AAIB report had noted a tense exchange in the cockpit.
06:47One pilot questioned the other about switching off the fuel supply to cut-off.
06:53The second pilot, unnamed in the official report, denied making the switch.
06:58Experts say the switches were moved in deliberate succession, just one second apart,
07:03a move described as highly unusual, with no clear justification during a standard take-off.
07:09I would like to condemn, firstly, such reports, which are directly bearing an effect on the pilot's fraternity,
07:22without any evidence whatsoever.
07:27The preliminary report nowhere states that the pilots have moved the fuel control switches,
07:33and this has been corroborated by the CVR recording.
07:38Meanwhile, another angle is under investigation.
07:59A report by the Indian Express says technical issues were flagged by the crew during the aircraft's previous flight.
08:07The AAIB report confirms the crew had entered a pilot defect report in the aircraft's technical log.
08:14The report issued a stabilizer position, transducer defect, a fault in the sensor that helps control the aircraft's nose movement.
08:23Troubled shooting was conducted as per standard procedure, and the aircraft was cleared for service.
08:29The Indian Express report goes further.
08:31It reveals that the engine indication and crew alerting system had displayed warnings in the days leading up to the crash.
08:37In fact, the same aircraft experienced an electrical failure in December 2024, causing a flight cancellation.
08:45The report says investigators are now probing whether these incidents point to a larger sensor failure or system malfunction.
08:53With questions mounting, Indian and U.S. investigators are now examining three critical possibilities.
09:00Was it human error?
09:02A deliberate act?
09:04Or a technical failure that caused the switches to move without pilot command?
09:11Bureau Report, Business Today TV.
09:14So many questions still doing the rounds on what really led to that crash, and ultimately we will have to wait for the final investigation report to ascertain what exactly happened.
09:29But there's been endless speculation based on the preliminary report that's emerged.
09:33I'd like to bring in on this edition of Newstruck, Captain Minuruji Wadia, founder, president of the Federation of Indian Pilots, a former Air India pilot himself.
09:42We also have Mirza Faizan, aerospace scientist and inventor of the ground reality information processing system.
09:49Good evening. Thank you very much for your time and for joining us here on India Today.
09:53Captain Wadia, I'd like to begin with you on what you make of the Wall Street Journal articles.
09:57There are some who say that, look, we shouldn't be pointing fingers right now. This is just a preliminary report.
10:02Others say, what's wrong with asking questions about what could have led to this crash?
10:07Well, I'll answer your question very specifically.
10:11And what you are probably saying yourself that there is speculation, speculation in Wall Street, speculation here.
10:18I do not wish to indulge in any speculation at all.
10:21I'll present the facts to you which are very clear in themselves.
10:26First of all, when you blame the pilots, I'll give you a factual presentation of showing you that the pilots have not done anything incorrect or wrong.
10:36And this has been purposely manipulated by some Western media to safeguard their own interests.
10:44How and why?
10:46First of all, the aircraft was perfectly normal when it took off. It had enough power. It took off.
10:51As soon as the pilots realized that there was loss of power and obviously something very strange.
10:59So they have asked each other, have you done something? Have you put the switch off?
11:03And the other pilots have said, no, I have not.
11:06First of all, why would you not believe exactly what is being said in the cockpit?
11:12Why would you like to presume something which was not said in the cockpit?
11:17They have said they have not touched the switches and that's exactly what happened.
11:21The aircraft took off further. And yes, when they realized that it was not developing power and both engines had flamed out.
11:32Then it is a normal procedure by your training, by your simulator practices, by your instructors telling you otherwise by something that is to be done by memory is at that point in time.
11:48You put the fuel switches off momentarily and put them on immediately.
11:54That is a normal procedure.
11:56Now, because this was followed, many people are misusing this information to misguide further to establish that this is the correct information.
12:07The report itself says that momentarily one engine did pick up, there was ignition and there was fuel ingestion.
12:15So there was power available at this point in time.
12:20However, people should understand and know that all these large engines, if the moment you put them on from zero thrust to maximum desirable thrust, it doesn't happen in a flash of a second.
12:32Okay.
12:33It takes almost eight to ten seconds for an engine to develop its full power.
12:39Here, there was no time for any power to develop.
12:42And before the pilots could take any further action, the aircraft crashed.
12:47So therefore, the pilots have done absolutely correct actions right from the beginning and have taken no incorrect actions.
12:54So cannot be found blameworthy at all to start with.
12:58Okay.
12:59Secondly, I'll give you my evidence to show that there is misinformation purposely being spread.
13:05On not only the first day, the second day itself, some Western media, especially American pilots, came in uniform for effect control that they are senior pilots with perfect knowledge.
13:18And they have said categorically, we have absolute correct information that we know exactly what happened, that the pilot after takeoff, instead of raising the undercarriage, which is a normal practice, he has raised the flaps.
13:31And that is why the aircraft sunk.
13:33And that is why the crash has taken place.
13:35And blaming the pilots for no reason.
13:38Now I'll shock you with some further news on the same subject.
13:42Today itself, in one of the media, I saw my own photograph with my name, saying very clearly that Captain Wadiahel, who's a senior aviation expert, saying that the pilots switched off and virtually crashed the aircraft.
14:00I mean, can you imagine how demeaning can people get to what an extent can people go to project their theory and to project maybe major aviation concerns.
14:13And so I am not pointing fingers who's done it.
14:16But if I could find out, I would certainly take them by defamation.
14:20No, that's absolutely ridiculous.
14:22And that itself tells you really that there is a motive behind the kind of pieces that we've been seeing right now, pointing fingers, but it's far too early to do that.
14:30But there's one aspect that I'd like to talk about.
14:32I'd like to bring in Mirza Fezzan on this.
14:34New information that came out today spoke about a stabilizer sensor.
14:39Mirza Fezzan, what do you make of that?
14:41Now, there's confirmation that, you know, that was fixed because the red flag was raised before this leg of the journey.
14:48And they say that that was very much fixed before this started off.
14:51Do you think that could, in any way, the stabilizer sensor, if there was a problem with that, be actually connected to what happened?
15:00Good evening, Akshita. Thank you for having me.
15:02No, at this point of time, I do not think that this crash is a result of anything to do with the stabilizer sensor transducer.
15:14This looks like, as all of us know by this time, it's a situation with the propulsion system, the engine shut down.
15:24And even the, as Captain Wadia said, there's an evidence that the engine has been shut down due to the fuel issue.
15:32So the stabilizer sensor has no role to play in this, as far as I think, at this point of time.
15:38You know, can you just explain to us in layman terms completely so our viewers understand, Mr. Fezzan, what exactly a stabilizer sensor actually does?
15:45So what happens is there are different flight control systems on an aircraft, like the aircraft's flaps, slats, horizontal and vertical stabilizers, right?
16:02Now, the stabilizer sensor actually sense the state of the stabilizer, the machine state, which state it is in, right?
16:12And it has to obey pilot's command. And also, it's a two-way communication.
16:20First of all, whatever pilot commands, it has to obey. And also, whatever is the current state, it has to show it on the pilot's instruments, right?
16:30So, an issue with the stabilizer sensor might present an anomaly in either in the reading or in the command.
16:39I do not have detail. We also do not have a detailed information of what exactly was that error.
16:45But this is what the stabilizer sensor does.
16:48And Mr. Fezzan, what do you have to say about all of these theories doing the rounds that, you know, the pilot is to blame, that the captain, Captain Sabarwal is the one that should be looked into?
16:57What do you make of that?
16:59I totally agree with Captain Wadia. In my opinion, and also hold my initial opinion from day one, I strongly believe that the pilot should be the last person to blame in any air crash.
17:15They have their life online, right?
17:18You can blame the pilot only, and if only, two conditions are satisfied.
17:24Condition number one, a thorough investigation has been technical, an engineering investigation has been done about the aircraft, and nothing wrong has been found with the aircraft.
17:37That is condition number one. And condition number two, we have a solid evidence, beyond reasonable doubt, which points fingers towards a pilot making an error.
17:50Right? If we do not, if we do not have both these conditions satisfied, we cannot blame a pilot.
17:57There have been many air crash investigations where the result has come out to be unconclusive.
18:02Yeah.
18:03If you don't know, if you're not going to find out, just write down, unconclusive, right?
18:07Why blame pilots?
18:09Let me give you an example of a really interesting air crash, first Airbus A320 air crash.
18:15It was the first fly-by-wire plane, and it was the first flight the entire world was watching that.
18:22And, you know, this plane crashed.
18:26And what happened is there was a clear issue with the design of this fly-by-wire aircraft, but who was blamed?
18:36The pilot was blamed. Captain Michelle Asleen was blamed because sometime air trash becomes a matter of prestige for large corporates, for companies.
18:47So who is the easiest person to blame? A dead man who's not going to come and, you know?
18:54Yeah, agreed. There's no one to defend them now.
18:56Put his point.
18:57Yeah, there's no one to defend them. So it's, you know, easy to point fingers and kind of get done with. And that's what the question is.
19:03My point is, if I may, if I may hit one point, I think at this point of time, Indian Pilot Association should send a defamation notice to Wall Street Journal.
19:14Tell them that this is not acceptable.
19:17No, that will be strong messaging. That will be strong messaging.
19:20And a massive, massive lawsuit should be, they should be looking at if the final, final results come.
19:27I agree with you. I agree with you, Mirza Fezzan, that maybe that's the next step to take,
19:31so that you don't really see this kind of conjecture constantly being thrown around.
19:34But it's not just a problem of Wall Street Journal.
19:37There are so many portals out there that are continuing to push this theory across.
19:41And Captain Vardyar, to just kind of shut this down once and for all.
19:44I think the question that constantly they keep asking is, why is it that in the cockpit recording,
19:49the co-pilot is asking Captain Sabarwal, why did you cut off the fuel switch?
19:56And why is, why is the question not, you know, this has happened?
20:00Why is the question, why did you?
20:03It's essentially over that that there's so much speculation of.
20:05So what would you say to anyone who says, look, this was the communication, that means he did it, he saw it?
20:10I already answered that question right in the beginning.
20:13That's exactly what I said.
20:14This is a normal thing.
20:15When you see the power not coming up, something has gone wrong.
20:19So one pilot asked the other, have you done anything?
20:21Have you put the switches off?
20:22And they have said, no, I have not.
20:25So why would you not believe what they have said 100%?
20:29That is for one thing.
20:31Secondly, let me go further and explain how this can happen.
20:35First of all, and what again, by the evidence that you already have on paper,
20:40as soon as the aircraft has taken off, the first thing normally on all departures,
20:46the first thing the pilot not flying says, positive rate of climb gear up.
20:52I presume they may have said that.
20:54And obviously they must have wanted the gear up immediately.
20:57That is maybe in about 30 feet or maybe about two seconds of the aircraft taking off.
21:02Why did this not happen?
21:04What happened?
21:05The gear was left down right till the end, till it crashed.
21:09Why?
21:10Well, let me explain.
21:12And because this has a lot of snowballing effect on this point also.
21:17There's something called a squat switch on an aircraft, on the oleo,
21:22which gives a signal to other computers on the aircraft,
21:26whether the aircraft is on the ground or in the air.
21:29Now, to put it in layman's terms to explain to everyone, what happens?
21:34If the aircraft is on the ground, there might be some engineers, there might be some mechanics or whoever,
21:39can make a mistake and come and put the landing gear up.
21:43Now, if that happens, if the landing gear goes up, the aircraft will be damaged to a very large extent.
21:49The landing gear going up and the aircraft falls on the ground, it will have major consequences.
21:54So to prevent it from happening, that squat switch is placed there to tell the other computers that the aircraft is on the ground,
22:02you cannot put the gear up, you do not.
22:05So that is one thing.
22:07Secondly, to correlate that and with further evidence on similar subject is also,
22:13as soon as it's taken off, you've seen the rat, that is, ram a turbine, come out.
22:19And when does this happen?
22:21When boat engines are failed.
22:23So there is established fact that boat engines have failed after, immediately after takeoff.
22:30Now, we'll get into a realm of speculation if we start to presume why this has happened.
22:35Therefore, I'm not going to get into that area.
22:38But I will just point out to you, is it possible to happen without the pilots putting the fuel switches off?
22:46Yes, it's possible for it to happen.
22:49It is. That's important.
22:50Yes, it is absolutely possible in various cases.
22:55And various, even recently, this lady from America, the Director General Mary, has clearly given us some explanation how this happens.
23:06See, the fuel switch is only a trigger for informing the other computers that we want the fuel switch, the fuel to be on or off.
23:16What actually goes on, the FedEx system, the fuel control valves are operated in a computer manner.
23:25Now, if there's a glitch in the computer system, which can happen quite easily, there's no doubt about that.
23:32Also, it has actually happened recently in Tokyo with Japan Airlines.
23:38What the pilots did after landing, they used the reversers.
23:43And this gave a wrong signal to the aircraft that the aircraft was on ground and the boat engines flamed out.
23:53Both engines shut off on their own, without the pilot taking any action or setting up the switches.
23:58So, these things can happen.
24:00So, let us leave this area for the specialists to go into.
24:04The DFDR will give a clear indication how this can happen, what can happen.
24:09But yes, a lot of things can happen.
24:11Okay. We'll leave it at that, you know, that we will get a final report.
24:14So, for everyone speculating, resorting to all of the talk on social media and this engagement, it's not fair at this point to drag the pilots and their families through this, who have been through so much already.
24:26It's unfair to resort to this kind of speculation without any concrete proof whatsoever.
24:31So, let's be patient, wait for that final report to come in before we resort to this kind of speculation.
24:36Particularly the American media that's running a campaign of sorts right now to do everything but blame it on technical issues, which we can't afford to do right now.
24:46Thank you very much, Mirza Fezana and Captain Wadia for joining us here on NewsTrack.
24:50This is, of course, a story that we've been tracking closely here on India today with every detail that emerges.
24:55But very clearly, at this point, what this coverage needs, and which is what we do here on India today, is absolute fairness, nothing else.
25:03Report the facts, not further speculation.
25:06American media is resorting to a whole lot of that right now.
25:10That's all we have time for in this edition of NewsTrack.
25:12Thanks very much for tuning in.
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