Air India Plane Crash: DGCA Probe May Lift the Curtain

Two days after release of the inquiry report on the Ahmedabad air crash, the DGCA on Monday ordered inspection of fuel control switch locking mechanism, which was found transitioned in the AI 171 aircraft whose crash claimed more than 250 lives, in certain Boeing planes operated by airlines.

Airlines and regulators of other countries like Saudi Arabia and South Korea have also ordered the inspection of this mechanism.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's inquiry report had pointed to shift in the fuel switches from RUN to CUT Off and referred to a cockpit voice recording in which one of the pilots asked another pilot if he had done this, and later the later denying it.

But the report said nothing who was that pilot who inquired and who was that who denied his involvement.

The insinuation that the fuel switches were tempered with invited a sharp reaction from pilots' unions. They rejected the report and called for a thorough probe.

The government has counselled patience, cautioning against jumping any conclusion on causes for the crash. The inquiry report came in for an across-the-board criticism for bearing no official signature.

Leaking it to foreign media outlets before it was shared with the native media also did not go well with people.

Experts demand full release of the cockpit recording to clear the cloud over the incident. The DGCA probe might raise the curtains over the controversy.

But the things will settle down only after release of the final report.