260 people lost their lives when the Air India plane crashed shortly after takeoff on June 12. According to a preliminary report released about the crash, the switches for the fuel flow were turned off for both engines, just seconds after the plane took off.
Aviation expert Jan Ohlsson explains that the fuel regulators in airplanes need to be able to be shut off, for example if the landing gear is not functioning and you need to cut off the fuel to avoid spark formation during landing.
It is very important that these instruments are somewhat accessible, but they should not be so accessible that you can reach them during takeoff, because then the plane is completely helpless, says Ohlsson.
"Must investigate"
On recordings from the cockpit, it has been heard that one of the pilots asks "why did you turn off the fuel?" and that the other replies "I did not".
But the fuel was turned on again at the time of the crash. Now they must investigate what happened, and who turned off the fuel. They need to delve deeper into the pilot's background, says Ohlsson.
Raise more questions
What can be the cause, no one knows, at this point it is not possible to determine what is behind it.
Now he thinks that the information about the turned-off fuel raises more questions than answers.
For the relatives, this is extremely unsatisfactory. Maybe this will be even harder for them, says Jan Ohlsson.
