The two Dreamliner fuel switches were cut one second after the other. Ten seconds later, the engines have turned off. The first elements of the investigation designate the captain as at the origin of the fatal gesture.
Speculations around the causes of the Boeing 787-9 Air India crash, which caused 260 people. A few days after the publication of the first elements of the Indian and American surveys, which point the finger at the momentary cut in the food of fuel engines, the analysis of one of the black boxes calls into question the responsibility of the Sameet Sabharwal commander.
According to American sources having had access to the audio band of the cockpit, cited by the Wall Street Journalthe captain would have cut the fuel arrival a few seconds after takeoff.
The preliminary investigation of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) had already revealed that the fuel control switches had been disabled one after the other, a second of interval, resulting in a brutal loss of push. Ten seconds later, they would have been reactivated.
The commander suffered from depression after the death of his mother in 2022
The recording of communications within the cockpit reveals that one of the pilots asks the other: “Why did you cut the fuel?” “, To which his interlocutor replies:” I did not do it. The American sources now identify Captain Sameet Sabharwal, 56, like the one having disabled fuel food. The co -pilot, Clive Kundar would have panicked unlike the captain. Shortly before the impact, Summet Sabharwal still launched a distress call.
The company confirmed that the two pilots totaled more than 9,000 hours of flight to them. According to The Telegraphthe investigators are also interested in the commander’s psychological health, who suffered from depression after the death of his mother in 2022 and planned to leave Air India to take care of his elderly father.
The CEO of Air India, Campbell Wilson, however, called not to draw hasty conclusions recalling that the investigation remains in progress and that the preliminary report does not determine any cause or responsibility.
