Voice Recording Of India's Black Box Air Released: Pilot Conversation Reveals Plane Crash

- Air carrier India (@airindia)

JAKARTA - Initial reports of the fall of India's Water showed a pilot and co-pilot conversation in the cockpit shortly before the Indian Air jet crashed and killed 260 people more than last month.

In the voice recordings that were recovered from the black box, the two pilots sounded confused, after the aircraft's engine combustion switch opened almost simultaneously and left the engine short on fuel.

The report by the Indian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) about the June 12 crash raises new questions about the position of an important fuel-breaking switch.

Almost as soon as the plane took off, CCTV footage showed backup energy sources from the ram air turbine had turned on, indicating power loss from the engine.

At the last moment of flight, a pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking another pilot why he turned off the fuel. "Another pilot replied that he didn't," the report said as reported by Indianews, Sunday, July 13.

It did not say which statement was made by the captain of the plane and which one was made by the co-pilot, one of which was clear that one of the pilots said, "Mloleh,men,men" right before the accident.

The main pilot of the Air India aircraft is Summeet Sabharwal, 56, which has a total flight experience of 15,638 hours and, according to the Indian government, is also an Indian Water instructor. The co-pilot is firekeeper Kunder, 32, who has a total flight experience of 3,403 hours.

The fuel switch almost simultaneously shifts from the "run" to the "cut-off" position right after takeoff. Initial reports did not explain how the switch could switch to a "cut-off" position during the flight.

At the accident site, the two fuel switches were found on and there were indications that the two engines were restarted before the accident.

"We care about the welfare of the pilot, so don't rush to conclusions at this stage, let's wait for the final report," said Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu.

This accident is a challenge for Tata Group's ambitious campaign to restore Air India's reputation and overhaul its fleet, after taking over the airline from the government in 2022.