PUBLISHED ONJuly 15, 20268:35 AM
India’s aircraft accident investigating body has prepared a cockpit voice recorder transcript, conducted a psychological autopsy and moved into the final stages of its probe into last year’s deadly Air India crash, a court filing showed
The filing did not identify whose psychological autopsy was conducted or disclose any findings on the crash of the Boeing 787 that killed 260 people shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, India
An analysis of data retrieved in late May from an engine monitoring unit was still awaited and an assessment of certain organisational factors remained in progress, India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) added, without providing more details
The AAIB said investigators had interviewed Air India 787 pilots, crew members who had previously flown with the pilots of the crashed aircraft, technical personnel involved in preparing the jet, air traffic controllers, weather officials and human-factors specialists
The families of the flight crew were also approached at their residences during the early stages of the investigation, the AAIB said in the filing dated Tuesday (July 14)
One of the AAIB’s home visits last year had upset Pushkar Raj Sabharwal, the father of the captain, who said officials implied his son cut the fuel to the plane’s engines after takeoff. He filed a lawsuit that led to the disclosures made by the AAIB in the court filing
The AAIB said media speculation and narratives attributing blame to the pilots had caused some witnesses to become “restrictive and non-responsive”
It said the probe was now in the analysis phase, with findings and conclusions being drawn across operational, technical, human-factors and organisational areas
The AAIB said it expected the remaining investigation activities to be completed within about six weeks, subject to pending “external dependencies”
A draft final report is expected around October, after which it will be circulated to relevant participating countries for comments before being finalised and published, the filing said
The US National Transportation Safety Board is one of the parties due to receive the draft report
According to US officials’ early assessment the cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots supported the view that the captain cut the flow of fuel to its engines
The AAIB said at the time it was “too early to reach any definite conclusions”
indiaAir crashesAviation/Aerospace sectorAirplane
