Today's Edition
NEW DELHI (REUTERS)
The probe into last month's crash of an Air India plane in Ahmedabad is far from over and it is unwise to jump to any premature conclusions, airline CEO Campbell Wilson said in an internal memo on Monday after the release of a preliminary report by investigators.
The memo, reviewed by Reuters, comes after the report depicted confusion in the cockpit shortly before the crash of the Boeing Dreamliner that killed 260 people.
It said the plane's engine fuel cutoff switches flipped almost simultaneously and starved the engines of fuel.
"The release of the preliminary report marked the point at which we, along with the world, began receiving additional details about what took place. Unsurprisingly, it provided both greater clarity and opened additional questions," the memo said.
Wilson added, "The preliminary report identified no cause nor made any recommendations, so I urge everyone to avoid drawing premature conclusions as the investigation is far from over."
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner bound for London from the Indian city of Ahmedabad began to lose thrust and sink shortly after takeoff, according to the report released by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB).
The memo said the preliminary report found no mechanical or maintenance faults and that all required maintenance had been carried out.
The preliminary report, released on Saturday, suggested no immediate action for Boeing or GE, whose engines were fitted onto the aircraft.
The AAIB, an office under India's civil aviation ministry, is leading the probe into the crash, which killed all but one of the 242 people on board and 19 others on the ground.
