NEW DELHI: India’s aircraft accident investigation body has prepared a cockpit voice recorder transcript, conducted a psychological autopsy and moved into the final stages of its probe into last year’s deadly Air India crash, a court filing showed.
The filing did not identify whose psychological autopsy was conducted or disclose any findings on the crash of the Boeing 787 that killed 260 people shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad, India.
An analysis of data retrieved in late May from an engine monitoring unit was still pending, while an assessment of certain organisational factors remained in progress, India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) added, without providing further details.
The AAIB said investigators had interviewed Air India 787 pilots, crew members who had previously flown with the pilots of the crashed aircraft, technical personnel involved in preparing the jet, air traffic controllers, weather officials and human factors specialists.
The families of the flight crew were also approached at their residences during the early stages of the investigation, the AAIB said in the filing dated Tuesday (Jul 14).
One of the AAIB’s home visits last year had upset Pushkar Raj Sabharwal, the father of the captain, who said officials implied his son had cut the fuel supply to the plane’s engines after takeoff. He filed a lawsuit that led to the disclosures made by the AAIB in the court filing.
The AAIB said media speculation and narratives attributing blame to the pilots had caused some witnesses to become “restrictive and non-responsive”.
It said the probe was now in the analysis phase, with investigators drawing findings and conclusions across operational, technical, human factors and organisational areas.
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