PILOT ‘MISTAKE’- Air India pilots made fatal error after takeoff causing jet to plummet to ground killing 260, crash investigators claim
Investigators believe pilot error may have caused the Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash that killed 260 people, including 52 Britons. The jet, bound for London, plummeted into a medical college in Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff. Preliminary findings suggest engine fuel switches were turned off moments after liftoff, possibly triggering a fatal loss of thrust.
“It’s almost impossible to turn those switches off by mistake,” a source said, but investigators have not ruled out “improper, inadvertent or intentional” action. A ram air turbine deployed, indicating power loss.
Only one passenger, 40-year-old Vishwash Ramesh, survived. “It’s a miracle,” he told The Sun, though he expressed deep guilt over the loss of his brother, Ajay.
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and co-pilot Clive Kunder had nearly 14,000 hours of combined flight experience and were hailed for steering away from homes. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released the preliminary report but India’s aviation authority has yet to publish it.