Can't draw conclusions from preliminary report, pilots' conversation brief: Minister on AAIB report

Union minister Murlidhar Mohol on Saturday said the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB)'s report on the Ahmedabad plane crash was a preliminary one and conclusions cannot be drawn based on it as the conversation between the pilots was very brief.

The Minister of State for Civil Aviation was talking to reporters here about the investigation into the June 12 plane crash.

The London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a medical college hostel in Ahmedabad moments after taking off from the city airport, killing all but one of the 242 onboard and another 19 on ground in the deadliest aviation accident in a decade.

The AAIB has released its preliminary report on the fatal Air India plane crash. It has found that the fuel supply to both engines was cut off within a second of each other, causing confusion in the cockpit and the airplane plummeting back to ground almost immediately after taking off.

The 15-page report says that in the cockpit voice recording, one unidentified pilot asked the other why he had cut off the fuel, which the other denied.

Mohol said, "This is a preliminary report. We cannot draw any conclusions based on it. Earlier, in case of such accidents, the black box had to be sent abroad. Now, we can complete this investigation quickly ourselves. The AAIB is an independent body. There is no interference from the ministry in it."

"No conclusions can be drawn based on the pilots' conversation as it is very brief. Further investigation is necessary. We should wait for that report," he added.

PTI