'No mechanical faults found in crashed plane': Air India CEO issues statement on probe report
PTC News Desk: Air India CEO Campbell Wilson on Monday issued a statement following the probe report came to the light. He asserted that aid that the initial investigation into last month's deadly crash of a Boeing Dreamliner found no mechanical or maintenance issues with the aircraft or its engines.
"Instead of focusing on such interpretations, I suggest we note that the Preliminary Report found no mechanical or maintenance issues with the aircraft or engines, and that all mandatory maintenance tasks had been completed. There was no issue with the quality of fuel and no abnormality with the take-off roll," said Wilson.
"We continue to perform necessary checks on all planes, as we will any new ones that authorities may suggest," he added.
His remarks follow the preliminary probe report released by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) which prompted several other theories and speculations to gain momentum.
He said the pilots had passed their mandatory pre-flight breathalyser and there were no observations regarding their medical status.
A five-member team appointed by the AAIB is investigating the the Air India flight AI 171 crash. The preliminary probe report suggest that the fuel switches to the engines were cut off within a gap of 1 second immediately after takeoff and caused confusion in the cockpit.
"We have to wait for something 'concrete' to emerge. This is a preliminary report right now and from the ministry we are analysing the report but I think it would be better if we comment on it once the final report comes in," Naidu said.
Meanwhile Union Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu also emphasised that it was too early to jump to any conclusion at this juncture as the AAIB investigation into the crash was only in the initial stages.
- PTC NEWS