Maybe.
If the suicidal pilot (guessing now) just covertly flips the fuel cutoff switch the other pilot will just think there is a problem with the plane and never guess the co-pilot is making it all happen.
One other thing - the gap between the time the fuel switches are pulled out and turned off one after the other, and the time they are re-initiated, is 10 seconds. I obviously am not familiar with the alarm sequence that happens in the cockpit when all the power is lost, but 10 seconds doesn’t seem unreasonable for one of the pilots to arrive at the WTF conclusion that the other has cut off the switches.
Is it even possible for the other pilot to re-start the engines and recover the aircraft in the time they had (let’s pretend the other pilot was perfect and responded as fast as is possible)?
I’m guessing no. Once the engines were off, in this case, recovery was not possible.
IANAPilot though so hopefully they will let us know.
Timeline from the report:
08:07:37 - aircraft starts rolling down the runway
08:08:33 - V1 (takeoff decision speed)
08:08:35 - Vr (aircraft has reached the speed required to rotate and takeoff)
08:08:39 - sensors detect aircraft has left the ground
08:08:42 - Maximum recorded speed recorded (180 knots)
“immediately thereafter” - Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transition from RUN to CUTOFF with a time gap of 1 sec.
One of the pilots is then heard asking the other why did he cut off. The other pilot responded that he did not do so.
08:08:47 - RAT begins supplying power
08:08:52 - Engine 1 fuel cutoff switch transitions from CUTOFF to RUN
08:08:56 - Engine 2 fuel cutoff switch transitions from CUTOFF to RUN
08:09:05 - one of the pilots transmits the mayday call
08:09:11 - the flight data recorder stops recording
…
I find it interesting that there is only a 1 second gap between the first and second engine being switched off, however when they are switched back on the gap is 4 second.
This definitely is looking like Gameel Al-Batouti all over again. Why these looney assholes can’t find a nice quiet cliff to jump off of, vs. taking out hundreds of other souls with them, is entirely beyond my ken.
This. That’s a HUGE gap of time to turn both engines back on. Absolutely huge. Was there a struggle in the cockpit?
https://www.wsj.com/world/asia/air-india-crash-senior-pilot-eab72db5?st=2AivEx
The article basically says that the senior pilot turned off the fuel switches, the junior pilot asked why, the senior pilot denied having done so, and the junior pilot turned them back on, 10 seconds after they’d been turned off.
The senior pilot remained calm and the junior pilot sounded alarmed.
This case would now be reviewed as a possible criminal action were it in the US.
Plus a lot of biographical info on the two pilots.
Unpaywalled repost of the Wall Street Journal article:
India is an ICAO signatory which means the investigation is being conducted in accordance with Annex 13. The primary purpose of the investigation is fact finding with the intent to understand causes and make recommendations to improve aviation safety. It is explicitly not an investigation with the intent to determine liability or criminal responsibility.
Criminal investigations are managed separately but are not directly supported by the formal accident investigation bureau.
While a crime may have been committed, I think it’s premature. Going off on a witch hunt only leads to harrassment of surviving family and does nothing to ensure safety for anyone.
ETA: Annex 13
Did the junior pilot call the mayday?
“Ham sandwich” notwithstanding, I don’t know how they’d indict a dead guy.
This might be a dumb question, but couldn’t black boxes be able to store video of the cockpit? Not sure why airlines wouldn’t have cameras recording the cockpit at all times
Anything is possible. How much do you want to spend?
(But in answer to your question, probably not at the quality of video that would be useful. That’s a lot of data to record and safeguard. Better yet, send them via satellite link as a continuous feed, along with GPS data and whatever else the data rate can handle.)
I believe pilots unions have blocked video recordings.
Well the big issue is that informed observers have not been able to come up with reasonable alternative explanations to pilot error/suicide.
What is your’s?
I suggest you scroll up to my question at post 164 and the response at post 168 for your answer.
In what way, shape, or form are people who have only read the preliminary (factual) report and media speculation an “informed observer”?
I am not privy to the facts of this case. I do not know how they’ve been able to rule out other causes and how they’ve identified who may have done what so far (I have not had time to read the report in full).
I am not a participant in the investigation nor will I use my expertise as justification to speculate on my pet theories. I will wait to see how it plays out.
There’s no urgency to this crime, if there was one. Dude’s dead. Let’s get it right, first.
Here’s Petter’s explanation. TL;DW: Significant expense for limited edge cases and pilot concerns.
My WAG is that assigning criminal responsibility isn’t to indict a dead person but rather it could potentially result in an airline being forced to pay even bigger payouts to the families of the dead passengers, and also further get Boeing off the hook as the manufacturer, even more so than mere pilot error.
Well, if it’s pilot error, Boeing does have some responsibility. That would suggest it’s too easy a mistake to make. And also, it would point to changes that ought to be made to the controls
If it was a bizarre suicide, pilot screening or mental health support would be more appropriate ways to reduce the risk.
So it kind of does matter. But i agree with mnemosyne that it’s more important to get it right than to get an answer quickly. It’s clearly not a common problem with the aircraft.