The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) President CS Randhawa on Thursday condemned a media report that claimed that the captain of the Air India flight that crashed in Ahmedabad last month deliberately cut off fuel to the engines.
Captain Randhawa dismissed the claims as baseless and vowed to take action against the publication. Captain CS 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.
"...Nowhere in the report has it been mentioned that the fuel control switch was turned off due to the pilot's mistake. I condemn the article. They said it was the pilot's mistake. They have not read the report properly, and we will take action against them through FIP," Captain CS Randhawa told ANI.
He further urged people not to comment on the AAIB's preliminary report, as this may create fear among commuters about air travel.
"We had issued a press statement yesterday that no channel, commentator or president of any agency should give such an opinion that has no basis. The detailed report will take time; till then, people are giving their own opinions without any basis, which is not right," Captain Randhawa added.
"Neither the report nor the Civil Aviation Minister has said that it was pilot error...You must relate this to the incident of ANA NH985, which occurred on January 17, 2019.
"At the time of landing, when the pilot selected thrust reversers, both engines shut down without the pilot moving the fuel control switch. I am quite clear that this is a repetition of the TCMA (Throttle Control Malfunction Accommodation) malfunction, and this needs a thorough investigation of the TCMA.
Boeing has not taken any action yet and has not even tried to issue a directive that all these aircraft should be checked for TCMA functions. Secondly, there is not a single pilot in the investigation committee," he said.