‘Boeing, General Electric Have Got a Get Out of Jail Card’: Aviation Expert on Air India Crash Report

A month after the fatal Air India crash that killed 260 people, including 241 passengers and crew, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has released a preliminary report.

The report reveals that two engine fuel control switches moved from RUN to CUTOFF within seconds of each other, shortly after take-off.

It also includes only a brief excerpt from the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), where one captain asks the other why he was cut off — to which the other responds saying he did not.

Aviation expert Sanjay Lazar speaks to The Quint about the many questions that remain unanswered: from the missing CVR transcript to concerns over a premature blame on the pilots to Boeing and GE being given a ‘get out of jail’ card.

Edited excerpts from the interview: