It’s not unusual to feel caught in labyrinth you wanted to discern. You often find yourself at the same path from where you started. This doesn’t mean that you’ve gained nothing. You’ve traced some paths that didn’t work. You’ve gained insights that will help you in tracing the paths ahead.
Guys, I am not an aviation expert. I’m not a frequent user of airways as a mode of transport. I am not among those whose families perished on the ill-fated 12th June in this crash. I also don’t have any acquaintance with the doctors’ dining in the mess, only to return to cure their patients. Still, when this news came to my eyes and ears, a numbness spread in me. It took some time to feel normal. I turned to the Almighty to pray for fewer casualties. I saw the rear part of the flight intact, and I was hopeful, but then, the data came. I grieved. I plunged into sadness. I feel I’ve developed an aversion to travel via air.
I’ve completed reading the 16-page preliminary report released by AAIB (Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau) after 1 month of the accident. Expect a few terms; it didn’t need expertise to understand. You feel that you’re acquainted with the terms after watching several news reports, opinions, and conspiracy theories arising after the incident. However, none of them aligns completely with the preliminary report. It unveils something unusual, which I doubt anyone would’ve thought. Honestly, I didn’t know until yesterday that there is a fuel switch in an aeroplane too. I know it’s in bikes, with three options- reserve, on and off, unlike the flight, which has only two- running and cut off. If it had had the three options, there was the possibility that we would’ve saved more lives.
The prima facie theory by the experts about the flaps was rendered wrong. The reports revealed that it was perfectly configured for takeoff. The landing gear was down, and no evidence was found to suggest that there was an attempt to retract it. Also, the thrust lever found at the crash site was at its initial position, but the FDR (Flight Data Recorder) suggests that it was pulled to maximum. The RAT (Ram Air Turbine) was deployed; that’s true. What appears more disturbing is the position of the fuel switch of the right and left engines, which changed twice during 10 seconds. The possibility of a bird strike has also been eliminated.
Mystery: From run to cut off for both right and left engines in the period of 1 second. This is quite unusual because the engine needs maximum fuel at this time. One pilot asked the other- Why did he switch it off? The other replied, he didn’t. Then the fuel to both engines is pushed to ‘running’ one after the other at an interval of 4 seconds. How can the fuel be cut off in an aircraft which is about to take off? One pilot is heard blaming the other, but the other also declined. Did he do it inadvertently while checking the other systems? I heard that it’s a bit complex task to cut off the fuel switch, and it needs a different manoeuvre than the other switches. So, did he do it knowingly? Or was there any third person in the cockpit, since the voice couldn’t be analysed as to who was speaking to whom? Or is this the issue of the faulty switch? Or was everything pre-planned? Were the pilots under pressure or threatened by someone? Is this a terrorist attack or some kind of mission by any intelligence agency to execute a person or a witness of prime importance, or to take revenge like those in movies and web series? Endless possibilities are sprawling here.
These possibilities need to be examined seriously to come to a definite conclusion, which seems difficult at this stage. The recovery of the front EAFR (Enhanced Airborne Flight Recorders) data, which is still in process, could lift some of the mysteries from this question. The background checks, telephonic conversations and other details of crew members and passengers on board should be analysed. It’ll take time, I know. But we’ve to wait- wait for the final report, which is expected to come within 12 months. I only hope for transparency in the investigation. It should be tainted by the power politics. We’ve every right to know the truth about the loss of invaluable lives so that every possible measure can be taken to avoid such incidents in future.
©Shashank
P.S. Click here to view the full report.
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