Indian Pilots Guild, an association of Air India pilots, on Monday slammed the preliminary report on Boeing 787-8 plane crash on June 12, saying that the crew of AI171 deserves a thorough, "fact-driven investigation" and not conjecture or sensationalism.
In a communication to its members, the managing committee of Air India wide-body aircraft pilots also said that the report that "omits vital technical explanations and cockpit voice transcripts" opens the door to "unnecessary" speculation and misinformed narratives in the media.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau in its preliminary report on the crash that killed 260 people on June 12 said the fuel switches to the engines were cut off within a gap of 1 second immediately after takeoff and caused confusion in the cockpit of Tata Group-run Air India flight AI 171.
Citing cockpit voice recording, the 15-page preliminary report, released on Saturday, said one pilot asked why the switch was cut off and the other pilot responded that he did not do so.
"The Indian Pilots Guild expresses deep concern over the preliminary report released on the tragic loss of our flight AI171," the IPG said.
Stating that it acknowledges the "complexities" of ongoing investigations, the pilots' body said, "We find the current report incomplete in critical areas-specifically the unexplained dual engine shutdown and absence of detailed cockpit communication."
Significantly, two other pilots' bodies, Indian Commercial Pilots Association and Airline Pilots Association of India (ALPA-India), have objected to the report, put up by the AAIB on its website past midnight on Friday. -- PTI