AI 171 report claims state of 'confusion' between pilots

New Delhi: Former Flight Operations Inspector with the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation), Captain Prashant Dhalla, spoke to ANI on Thursday regarding the Wall Street Journal's news report on the Air India AI 171 crash that occurred in Ahmedabad last month.

Dhalla emphasised the word 'transitioned', which was mentioned in the report. He further explained that this report suggests a challenge-and-response dynamic exists between the two pilots, with one questioning the other, and a state of confusion.

"The report uses a particular word - 'transitioned'. The fuel control switches transitioned, according to the report. This report suggests that a challenge-and-response dynamic exists between the two pilots, with one questioning the other, and a state of confusion between the pilots, potentially leading to a breakdown in Crew Resource Management (CRM)," Captain Prashant Dhalla said.

"If any changes were made due to a failure in this aircraft, they would have used these switches to regain power. If there was a problem with the locking mechanism of these switches, then the pilots were also helpless," Captain Dhalla added further.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) President, CS Randhawa, on Thursday, condemned a media report that claimed that the captain of the flight deliberately cut off fuel to the engines.

Captain Randhawa emphasised that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's (AAIB) preliminary report makes no mention of the pilots turning off the switches controlling fuel flow to the engines.