New Delhi: Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol has said that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is investigating all possible angles, including sabotage, in its probe into June 12 Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, which killed 274 people.
The minister added that the black box of the crashed Air India flight, which has been recovered, is currently in the custody of the AAIB and will remain within the country for a complete analysis. He made these remarks during a conclave held by NDTV.
He said that the AAIB had started a full probe into the unfortunate incident. “It is being probed from all angles, including any possible sabotage. The CCTV footage are being reviewed and all angles are being assessed… several agencies are working on it,” the minister pointed out.
The Ahmedabad-London AI 171, belonging to Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 fleet, crashed seconds after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. Out of the 242 passengers and crew members on board, only one survived the crash.
The minister said that the crash was a “rare case”. “It has never happened that both engines have shut down together,” he pointed out. His comments came amid claims by veteran pilots and aviation experts suggesting that a dual engine failure may have caused the plane to go down and burst into flames. He added that once the (probe) report is out, it will be possible to establish whether it was an engine problem or fuel supply issue or why both the engines had stopped functioning.
“There is a CVR (cockpit voice recorder) in the black box which has stored the conversation between the two pilots. It is too early to say anything but whatever it is, it will come out. The report will come in three months,” he pointed out.