Air India crash probe: Indian, US investigators to meet in Washington DC

By Allyson Versprille, Mihir Mishra and Julie Johnsson

India is sending investigators to the US next week to go over data with the National Transportation Safety Board gathered so far on the deadly crash in June of an Air India flight.

The Indian investigators plan to share their findings, including any information gleaned from the plane’s cockpit voice and flight data recorders, according to a person familiar with the meeting. India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has been leading the probe into crash, which killed 241 passengers and crew on the ill-fated Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliner.

The meeting will occur at the NTSB’s headquarters in Washington, the person said on the condition of anonymity because the information isn’t public. Representatives from other parties to the investigation, including Boeing, will also be present, the person said.

A spokesperson for the NTSB said it didn’t have any information to provide at this time and referred questions to Indian authorities. Boeing referred all questions to AAIB. AAIB and India’s aviation ministry didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment over the weekend.

The meeting between the Indian and US investigators comes after reports of tension between the two countries over the handling of the crash probe. Meanwhile, pilots’ unions in India have pushed back against any suggestions that the crash was caused by pilot action.

The preliminary report showed the aircraft’s fuel-control switches were turned off immediately after the plane departed from an airport in Ahmedabad, causing the engines to lose power and dooming the flight. Although the move was reversed about 10 seconds later, it was too late to avert the tragedy.

Investigators are still compiling information and no final conclusions have been reached in the probe. But some details have begun to emerge, including that the cockpit voice recorder captured the younger co-pilot, who was flying the plane at takeoff, asking the more experienced captain why he turned off the critical switches. The captain denied doing so.

More details will come to light when the AAIB releases its final report. The agency has cautioned people not to jump to conclusions before then.