Air India CEO hits back after prelim report suggests deadly crash was caused by pilot error

The CEO of Air India urged his staff to not jump to conclusions after a preliminary report over last month’s deadly crash ruled out mechanical or maintenance issues, suggesting it may have been caused by pilot error.

Campbell Wilson issued an internal memo insisting the probe into the crash — which killed 241 people on board and another 19 on the ground — was “far from over” as investigators zero in on why the plane’s engine fuel cutoff switch was flipped just seconds after take off.

“Over the past 30 days, we’ve seen an ongoing cycle of theories, allegations, rumors and sensational headlines, many of which have later been disproven,” read the memo, which was acquired by the Wall Street Journal.

The memo came before a report that investigators are also looking into the possibility that one of the pilots may have been suffering depression and other mental health issues.

India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) found that there was some confusion in the cockpit between the two pilots about the fuel switches, with one of the men asking the other why he apparently turned off the switch, according to recordings from inside the plane.

But the other pilot claimed he never touched the switch, with the men flipping it back on about 10 seconds later.

The fix, however, came too late, with the engines unable to fully restart and gain thrust fast enough, causing it to crash down into a residential area in Ahmedabad.

The cutoff switches are most often used to turn both engines off at once, either when a plane reaches the airport gate or during emergencies requiring a shutdown.

The report did not reach any final conclusions on what happened with the switches or if they were turned off accidentally or intentionally.

Wilson appeared to defend the pilots — who were seasoned fliers with more than 19,000 combined miles under their belt — noting that they had taken all the appropriate steps before takeoff.

Wilson added that the pilots had both passed the mandatory preflight breathalyzer test and that “there were no observations pertaining to their medical status,” according to the memo.

Both black boxes for the doomed flight, which include the cockpit voice recorders and flight data, were recovered from the rubble a few days after the crash. 

Going forward, the boxes will be used to help determine other possible factors that contributed to the crash.