Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy, who himself is a pilot, advocated caution, noting that the report cited technical reasons and credited the pilots for following the situation correctly
Priyanka Chaturvedi. File pic
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) Priyanka Chaturvedi on Saturday blamed Boeing, GE and Air India for the June 12 Ahmedabad plane crash which had killed 260 people.
Her reaction came hours after the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released the preliminary report into the Ahmedabad plane crash.
"....it seems clear that Boeing (manufacturer), GE (engine) and Tata Air India (operator) failed us, not our pilots," Chaturvedi said in a post on X.
Highlighting the findings of the report, she said: "Both engines shut down mid-air within seconds after takeoff -- fuel cutoff switches moved from RUN to CUTOFF one after another" and that "no immediate sabotage evidence, but a known FAA advisory on possible fuel switch flaw existed -- inspections not done by Air India".
Chaturvedi further attacked a British media outlet, quipping it was the “Boeing Bacchao Corporation aka BBC,” in response to reports suggesting the pilots deliberately shut off the engines.
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy, who himself is a pilot, advocated caution, noting that the report cited technical reasons and credited the pilots for following the situation correctly, reported PTI. Rudy highlighted that “the aircraft reached the speed of 180 knots after taking off, which shows that it was capable to fly initially.” He also mentioned that post-crash, “both the fuel switches were found to be on.” However, he cautioned, “Only time will tell what happened exactly.”
Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat urged the public to refrain from speculation pending the final report.
“We have to wait for the final report... for people who have no idea about these technicalities to go on commenting ... is insulting to those who lost their loved ones,” she said.
Key findings from the AAIB’s 15-page preliminary report include:
Both fuel-control switches moved from RUN to CUTOFF within a second, resulting in rapid loss of altitude.
A cockpit voice recording captured one pilot asking the other, “why did you cut off the fuel?” followed by the other denying the action.
The report did not assign blame or identify the pilots on the recording but found no mechanical faults, leaving pilot error as the only plausible explanation.
It referenced a 2018 FAA airworthiness bulletin cautioning that some Boeing models, including certain 787s, had fuel switch locking mechanisms that could be disengaged.
The Airlines Pilots Association of India (APAI) has criticised the investigation, calling it “shrouded in secrecy,” biased against the pilots, and rushed to judgement.
The AAIB maintains that the preliminary findings are inconclusive, with a final report due later, which is expected to clarify the exact sequence of events and identify accountability.
(With PTI inputs)
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