Breaking News - Air India 171 to London Gatwick crashes in Ahmedabad - 240+ Souls

[WallFlowerActive]

In a way.  I wish it was fuel contamination now.

[UltraBudgie]

So while nothing is conclusive, this was in all likelihood a deliberate murder-suicide?

Egads.

[Sky727]

It looks like in the preliminary report "the fuel was shut off to both engines" causing the crash !!!! It will most likely be almost a year before the final report comes out. 

[andy06shake]

It looks like in the preliminary report "the fuel was shut off to both engines" causing the crash !!!! It will most likely be almost a year before the final report comes out. 
[Video: https://youtu.be/qrtRC6OkmiI]

So the fuel cutoff switches were in the off position?

Pilot error? 

If that's the case, you have to ponder how the plane managed to make it into the air.   

As i imagine at takeoff, when the engines are operating at near full thrust to lift the aircraft off the ground, it would consume rather a large amount of fuel relative to the short time involved.

I dont know much about fuel systems in planes, all the same so.................

[Quantum12]

@Zahhod58



Can the switches auto shut off or does someone have to physically shut them off?

[Zaphod58]

@Zahhod58

[Image: https://denyignorance.com/uploader/images/IMG_1840.jpeg]

Can the switches auto shut off or does someone have to physically shut them off?

There’s a physical locking mechanism. They have to be lifted, moved to either RUN or CUTOFF, then dropped back in to place. There were concerns about the locking mechanism failing due to a problem with the 737 switches, but I’ve never heard of a double switch failure like that, and the concerns weren’t enough to require an airworthiness directive or mandatory inspection.

[UltraBudgie]

@Zahhod58

[Image: https://denyignorance.com/uploader/images/IMG_1840.jpeg]

Can the switches auto shut off or does someone have to physically shut them off?

they have to be physically shut off and have a little interlock where you have to deliberately lift them up to toggle them. both were shut off within one second of each other. impossible to do by accidentally swiping them. one pilot said essentially "why did you do that?" the other said "i didn't" then they were turned back on within ten seconds, but by then it was too late. they are not possible to confuse with switches like the landing gear, because of how they interlock and because they toggle in the other direction. so it doesn't seem like a case of learned muscle-memory gone wrong, or something accidental.

horrible to think it may have been deliberate.

edit: other than inference from dialog, it's unclear what pilot shut the switches off, and which one turned them back on. there was no cockpit video recorder.

[Zaphod58]

So the fuel cutoff switches were in the off position?

Pilot error? 

If that's the case, you have to ponder how the plane managed to make it into the air.   

As i imagine at takeoff, when the engines are operating at near full thrust to lift the aircraft off the ground, it would consume rather a large amount of fuel relative to the short time involved.

I dont know much about fuel systems in planes, all the same so.................

No, they were moved to CUTOFF after they were airborne, then moved back to RUN which started automatic restart procedures.

[WallFlowerActive]

I have to wonder if the pilot the turned them off blamed the other pilot while doing it.  I don’t want to ever commit murder suicide.  But that’s what I would do.

[WallFlowerActive]

With advancements in technology.  Is it time to have live video of the cockpit fed to off platform archiving?