ALPA India, which represents Indian pilots at the Montreal-based International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations, in a statement on Saturday (Jun 12) rejected the presumption of pilot error and called for a “fair, fact-based inquiry”.
“The pilots body must now be made part of the probe, at least as observers,” ALPA India President Sam Thomas told Reuters on Sunday.
ALPA India, in a letter posted on X, said the preliminary investigation report referred to the 2018 FAA advisory “concerning the fuel control switch gates, which indicates a potential equipment malfunction”.
In the flight’s final moments, one pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel. “The other pilot responded that he did not do so,” the report said.
It said fuel switches had almost simultaneously flipped from run to cutoff just after takeoff. The report did not say how the switches could have flipped during the flight.
Two US safety experts said on Saturday they backed ALPA India’s request to be observers in the probe, but said the investigation report did not suggest a bias toward pilot error.
John Cox, a pilot and former ALPA US representative, said AAIB’s report seemed objective and fair.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/boeing-fuel-switch-locks-safe-faa-air-india-crash-probe-5236481
