Relations between U.S. and Indian officials investigating the crash of an Air India 787 earlier this year have been strained, and there may be considerable differences between the two sides over the cause of the disaster, a new report says.
wall street journal The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Indian authorities are at odds over where to examine the plane’s flight recorders and the procedures for examining the evidence, it was reported on Friday. Americans are also frustrated by what they say are slow data recovery efforts.
National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Jennifer Homendy has threatened to withdraw U.S. support for the investigation unless her agency’s demands are met, the newspaper reported.
As of this month, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) are continuing to cooperate in the investigation, although no new information has been released through official channels in months. A preliminary report released by the AAIB in July showed that the 787’s fuel control switch had been switched from “run” to “cut,” causing both engines to starve of fuel and reduce thrust. The document does not explain why the switch was moved to the off position.
black box standoff
according to MagazineIndian officials wanted to examine the plane’s flight recorders at a laboratory in the northern Indian town of Kova. The Americans believed the analysis would be conducted in New Delhi or Washington, D.C., and were reluctant to send experts to Kova because of the risk of terrorism in the area.
Homendy allegedly thwarted the plan and had State Department staff intercept National Transportation Safety Board investigators at the Delhi airport before they could board a military flight arranged by the Indian government to Kowa.
Homendy then issued an ultimatum – if Indian investigators did not choose between New Delhi and Washington within 48 hours, she would end U.S. support for the investigation. The Indian government selected New Delhi.
Air India 787 [Credit: Shutterstock]
U.S. and Indian experts also disagree over the entire process of reviewing and sharing evidence. The Indians conducted certain aspects of the investigation in order, Magazine The statement said that although Americans want a broader and faster review to determine whether there are problems with the 787 that would otherwise pose a risk to the international flying public.
Indian inspectors also took an unusually long time to obtain flight recorder readings.
“We are rushing to get the data,” an FAA official reportedly said at the time.
“We are not a third world country”
Differences between American and Indian investigators may have to do with cultural and national pride as well as procedures.
this Magazine The report indicates that the AAIB does not want outside groups to control the investigation or undermine its authority. According to people familiar with the matter, the head of the agency, GVG Yugandhar, told US investigators that “we are not a third world country” and “we can do anything that all of you can do.”
Flight 171 crashed shortly after taking off from the city of Ahmedabad. The 787 failed to climb and crashed into a medical school campus, killing a total of 260 people, including all but one passenger.
according to MagazineAccording to the report, U.S. and Indian experts disagreed over ultimate responsibility for the crash. People in the U.S. government and the U.S. aerospace sector privately believe one of the pilots crashed the plane intentionally, while Indian authorities and pilots’ associations have avoided talking about potential pilot culpability.
Data from flight recorders and other instruments reportedly showed that as the 787 lost altitude, the co-pilot panicked and tried to pull up the plane’s control sticks, while the senior pilot, who was suspected of cutting fuel to the engine, failed to do so.
