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Air India plane crash report: US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy has asked for restraint in jumping to conclusions regarding the fatal crash of an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner that killed all 260 passengers and crew last month. The announcement follows recent news reports that cockpit disorientation and the potential manual shutdown of essential fuel switches could have been responsible for the deadly crash

In a statement on social media site X on Friday, NTSB Chair Homendy characterized the recent reporting as "premature and speculative". She emphasized that aviation crash investigations of this size take a long time to analyze and often are not complete in a year or more in order to identify the probable cause and issue safety recommendations. The NTSB is supporting India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) in the ongoing investigation.

Cockpit Voice Recorder Uncovers Misunderstanding Regarding Fuel Switches

An initial report released last week by India's AAIB stated that two key fuel control switches on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner were switched to the "cutoff" position soon after taking off, denying the plane's engines fuel. According to cockpit recordings cited by Reuters, First Officer Clive Kunder was heard asking Captain Sumeet Sabharwal why the switches were moved. The captain reportedly denied doing so. The switches were turned back on about 10 seconds later, but it was too late to regain control. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed after just 32 seconds from takeoff, killing 260 individuals, including 19 on the ground. Fortunately, one passenger survived.

Investigators have so far discovered no mechanical or design defects in the Boeing Dreamliner itself or its GE Aerospace engines. After the crash, Air India has conducted precautionary checks on the FCS locking mechanism on its entire Boeing 787-8 fleet as instructed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The airline asserted that no issues were identified during these tests. “All our Boeing 787-8 aircraft have also undergone Throttle Control Module (TCM) replacements as per Boeing’s maintenance guidelines,” Air India informed while addressing its flight crew.

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Air India CEO And AAIB Ask Public to Wait for Final Report

The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) and the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations (IFALPA) have both asked the public, media, and the authorities not to jump to conclusions. "Pre-judging an incident like this before there is a clear and data-driven investigation is premature and irresponsible," the FIP has said in a statement.

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Air India CEO Campbell Wilson and the AAIB have additionally appealed to the media and public not to speculate until the investigation continues. A final report determining the probable cause and any contributing factors may take a few months up to a year to finalize. Principal stakeholders such as Boeing, GE Aerospace, Air India, DGCA, and the AAIB have yet to release new statements based on the latest updates.