The preliminary report of the researchers who investigated the Air India accident that killed 260 people showed that seconds after takeoff, the fuel control switches of the plane’s engine went out briefly, hungry for fuel.
As a result, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner bound for London of the Indian city of Ahmedabad on June 12, immediately began to lose thrust and sink, according to the report on the most fatal aviation accident in the world in a decade, published on Saturday by the Office of Accident Research of Aircraft of India (AAIB).
Below there are some facts about the switches, their functions in the aircraft and their movements on the Air India flight.
What are fuel control switches?
The fuel control switches regulate the fuel flow in the engines of an airplane. Pilots use pilots to start or turn off engines on the floor or to turn off or manually restart the engines if a motor failure occurs during a flight.
The switches are used more frequently to turn off the engines once a plane has reached the door of its airport and in certain emergency situations, such as a fire in the engine. The report does not indicate that there was any emergency that requires a motor cut.
Aviation experts say that a pilot could not accidentally move the fuel switches that feed the engines. But if it moved, the effect would be immediate, cutting the engine energy.
There are independent and wiring energy systems for fuel cutting switches and fuel valves controlled by these switches, according to US aviation safety expert John Cox.
Where are they?
The two fuel control switches in a 787, in the Air India case equipped with two ge engines, are found under the thrust levers.
The switches are loaded with spring to remain in position. There are two modes: cut and execution.
To change a race to cut, a pilot must first throw it and then move it from the race to cut or vice versa.
What happened on the flight?
According to the flight recorder, a few seconds after takeoff, the switches of both engines made the transition to running one after another with a time space. As a result, the engines began to lose power.
A pilot was heard in the cabin’s voice recorder asking the other why he cut the fuel. “The other pilot replied that he did not,” the report said.
He did not identify what comments were made by the captain of the flight and which by the first officer.
Seconds later, the switches operated again, according to the preliminary report, which also indicated that both fuel control switches were found in the execution position on the locking site.
When the fuel control switches move from cutting to the execution while the aircraft is in flight, the engine control system automatically manages a lighting and thrust recovery sequence of the introduction of ignition and fuel, according to the report.
“No healthy pilot would put out those blackouts in flight,” especially because the plane is starting to climb, said American aviation security expert John Nance.
The AAIB, an office under the Ministry of Civil Aviation of India, leads the investigation of the accident, which killed all except one of the 242 people on board and another 19 in the field.
Air India recognized the report in a statement, saying that he was cooperating with the Indian authorities, but rejected more comments.
