The Air India crash investigation has been looking keenly at one of the aircraft parts that has been noted to be one of the key factors in the disaster that claimed the lives of 260 individuals. Engine fuel control switches have become the most common factor that has been used to interpret the accident that happened during the flight. So, what are these switches, and why should they be so important to the Air India crash investigation?
The initial findings of the Air India crash investigation had indicated that these were essential switches which were turned off due to some mysterious reason a few seconds after takeoff, which deprived the Boeing 787s of fuel to run the engines. It is a shocking discovery that has rendered engine fuel control switches the centre of interest amongst the investigators in solving the Air India crash conundrum. Learning about these switches, their usual operation, and what was wrong with them in the Air India crash has now become critical in attempting to find the cause of this flying mishap.
In response to the Air India crash investigation, aviation safety expert John Cox writes that these fuel cutoff switches and fuel valves used with them are powered and wired independently. In this type, there is an immediate and perfect effect in moving the switches into the cutoff position, the engines being instantly starved instead.
What Happened to These Switches During the Air India Crash?
The crash flight recorder records of the Air India accident indicate a very troubling sequence as regards these important switches. About a few seconds after takeoff, the fuel control switches of the engine started changing position, first one and then the other, in a single-second interval. This procedure promptly started shutting down the fuel to the two engines at the very most critical part of the flight.
A cockpit voice recorder aboard the Air India crash recorded a discussion that continues to advance the mystery of those switches. One of the pilots is heard saying to the other pilot Why has he turned off the fuel. The other pilot replied that he had not touched the switches. The investigation report of the Air India crash does not mention the name of the particular pilot to indicate this statement or that, yet this is very telling in the way the pilots were misinformed about the aircraft.
The other confusing aspect of the Air India crash is that seconds after, the switches moved back to the RUN position, that is, switched on. After investigators explored the wreckage, both the fuel control switches were shown to be in position RUN. The Air India crash report records that the recovery of fuel control switches to RUN in flight causes the engines of the plane to automatically act by trying to relight the engines and regain thrust.
This automatic recovery process however was not enough to avert the crash of Air India. The brief stall in the supply of fuel to the aircraft during the most crucial part of the takeoff process produced a scenario that was not recoverable by the airplane even though the engine has some features of automatic relighing.
Why These Switches Are Central to the Air India Crash Investigation
This is since the engine fuel control switches have turned out to be the centerpiece of the Air India crash investigation due to their uncharacteristic nature vis-a-vis the usual operation of an airplane. In the Air India crash, aviation security analyst John Nance wrote a remark that no pilot in his or her right mind would ever switch off those power switches anywhere near the air.
Investigation team which is now investigating the cause of the crash in Air India is battling to find out whether the movement of the switch was due to mechanical fault or intentional acts or acted by other unknown factors. The spring-loaded nature and the two steps involved in changing these switches makes it almost impossible that switch can be unintentionally activated and the crash involving Air India makes it even more puzzling.
It is important to know what exactly made these switches turn on, as was the case during the Air India crash, to avoid such incidents. The nature of the investigation is bound to shape the way aircraft are designed in the future, and safety measures to be put in place to ensure that the lessons learnt by this Air India crash will protect future flights.
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