Air India pilot did turn off fuel switches before crash disaster, Western sources claim
A pilot in charge of flying the Air
India plane that crashed last June, killing 260 people, turned off the fuel switches in a move that was 'almost certainly' intentional, Western sources have claimed.
The Boeing 787, bound for London
Gatwick, crashed into a medical college 32 seconds after taking off from Ahmedabad Airport in India on June 12.
A total of 241 passengers were killed as well as 19 people on the ground. Only one passenger - British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh - survived. Of the passengers, 53 were British.
Since the tragedy, investigators from India's Aircraft Accidents Investigation Bureau have been leading the probe into the cause of the crash.
They have been working with officials from the US' National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), as well as Boeing and the engine's manufacturer, GE Aerospace.
Western sources told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that the blame likely lay at the feet of the plane's captain, Sumeet Sabharwal.
Sabharwal was monitoring the plane at the time of the crash, while first officer Clive Kunder was in control.
The newspaper reported that investigators have found that the left engine was shut down before the right one. Given that captains always sit on the left, the paper reported that this pattern indicated Sabharwal had turned the engines off.
In one blackbox recording, one pilot was heard asking the other: 'Why did you turn off the engines?'
The other responded: 'It wasn't me.'
On top of this, Kunder's control stick appeared to be in a position that indicated he was trying to regain altitude in the final moments before the crash, whilst Sabharwal's stick was stationary.
According to simulations of the Boeing 787 plane, US experts found that it wasn't possible for both engines to shut down due to a technical fault, leaving human intervention, intentional or otherwise, as the only reasonable explanation.
And following an analysis of data from the plane's two black boxes in Washington, investigators ruled out human error as the cause of the engines being shut down.
The newspaper also reported that Indian officials have frustrated the investigation process over the past seven months.
Sources told Corriere that the conclusions of the report will be subjected to a 'political' evaluation with the aim of avoiding national controversy in India.
It is likely that the final report will be released between June 8 and June 12 this year, and may be toned down.
Despite the aim of avoiding controversy in India, US pressure and the threat of 'reassessing' the safety ratings of India's airlines pushed New Delhi.
Amid increasing investment in air travel, tourism and trade, the nation reportedly did not want its overall image to be damaged.
A source told Corriere: 'Admitting that one of the pilots was responsible for the plane's downfall is increasingly seen as a worthwhile sacrifice.'
The newspaper reported that the final report will be written to help improve aviation in India, and will likely add a recommendation to make continual assessments on the physical and mental wellbeing of pilots.
In November, sole survivor Mr Ramesh revealed why he is still unable to speak to his family following the deadly crash.
Footage shocked the world as he was seen walking away from burning wreckage with minor visible injuries, even as thick smoke poured into the sky.
But since returning to his home city of Leicester in England, Ramesh, who said he feels like the 'luckiest man' alive, has been struggling with severe post-traumatic stress disorder and can barely speak to his wife and four-year-old son.
Speaking publicly for the first time, he told
BBC News: 'Now I'm alone. I just sit in my room alone, not talking with my wife, my son. I just like to be alone in my house.'
His younger brother, Ajay, had been sitting a few rows away and died in the crash. He emotionally added: 'I lost my brother as well. My brother is my backbone. Last few years, he was always supporting me.'
The horror unfolded moments after take-off when flames engulfed the aircraft.
Ramesh previously explained from his hospital bed in India how he freed himself from seat 11A and crawled out of a gap in the fuselage.
During the interview, he broke down several times as he spoke alongside Leicester community figure Sanjiv Patel and spokesman Radd Seiger. Asked about his memory of the crash, he said: 'I can't say anything about that now.'
He described the pain he and his family are now forced to deal with.
'Physically, mentally, also my family as well, mentally… my mum last four months, she is sitting every day outside the door, not talking, nothing,' he said. 'Every day is painful for the whole family.'
The survivor also spoke about ongoing injuries, saying he has constant pain in his leg, shoulder, knee and back. 'When I walk, not walk properly, slowly, slowly, my wife help,' he said. He has not worked or driven since the crash.
His advisers say he received a PTSD diagnosis in India but has had no treatment since he came back to Britain.
They claim he feels abandoned and that the family fishing business in Diu, India, which he ran with his brother, has collapsed.
Mr Patel said the family is 'in crisis, mentally, physically, financially' and insisted Air India executives should meet them.
'Whoever's responsible at the highest level should be on the ground meeting the victims of this tragic event,' he said. Mr Patel added that the tragic incident had 'devastated his family'.
