An American lawyer representing over 90 victims of the June Air India Boeing 787 crash revealed that the tragedy may have been caused by a short circuit due to a water leak from the aircraft’s onboard toilet system.
Ahmedabad Crash: Lawyer Identifies Potential Cause
An American lawyer, Mike Andrews, who represents the families of more than 90 victims of the June Boeing 787 crash involving Air India, stated that the disaster could have been triggered by a short circuit caused by a water leak in the plane’s onboard lavatory system. Earlier reports had suggested that one of the pilots cut off fuel supply to the engines, but Andrews clarified he lacks sufficient evidence to blame the pilots. Instead, he pointed to a faulty water system in Dreamliner aircraft—a flaw highlighted by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration a month before the June 12 tragedy—which may have caused the electrical failure and engine power loss.
Lawyer: Accusing Pilots Without Full Data is Unfair
Andrews disclosed that four engineers contacted him with information about “technical and engineering issues” that may have contributed to the crash. He emphasized that anyone attempting to assign blame to the pilots without complete data “is merely speculating,” which is unjust toward the victims and the families of the pilots, as they are also victims. “If a technical malfunction is confirmed and the pilots were not at fault, this speculation would be particularly unfair,” he added, stressing that everyone deserves answers about what happened.
The Air India Plane Crash
The crash occurred in early June shortly after the plane took off from Ahmedabad Airport. The aircraft was en route to the United Kingdom. A total of 229 passengers (only one, a 40-year-old British national, survived) and 12 crew members died. Nineteen people on the ground were killed when the plane struck a building, and 67 were injured. The initial report did not indicate any flaws or malfunctions in the Boeing aircraft. An analysis by India’s Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Investigation revealed that fuel supply to two engines was cut off 0.1 seconds apart after takeoff. The report noted that “in the cockpit recording, one pilot can be heard asking the other: ‘Why did you cut the fuel supply?'” The second pilot reportedly denied doing so.
India: Over 260 Safety Violations Found in Airlines
A late July audit revealed 263 safety violations in Indian airlines, including 23 breaches by IndiGo, India’s largest carrier, and 51 errors by Air India, the country’s second-largest airline. Issues cited in the audit included insufficient pilot training, use of unauthorized simulators, and ineffective planning systems for civilian aircraft crews. Of these, 19 violations were categorized as serious breaches of safety protocols requiring immediate remedies. India’s aviation authority clarified that the audit was not linked to the recent Boeing 787 crash, which claimed 279 lives.
Source: Gazeta, https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/paliwo#anchorLink], https://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/katastrofa#anchorLink], https://next.gazeta.pl/next/7
