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The key events of the Air India crash investigation

Sources briefed by U.S. officials on their early assessment of the evidence said that a cockpit recording of dialogue between two pilots of an Air India flight which crashed last month confirms that the captain stopped the fuel flow to the plane's engine.

The timeline below shows the key events of the investigation so far:

JUNE 12

Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner headed for London crashed shortly after takeoff in Ahmedabad, killing all 242 passengers on board except one.

JUNE 13

India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau launches an investigation in the deadliest aircraft crash of the past decade.

The team includes an aviation medicine expert, an air traffic controller, and representatives of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board.

Boeing 787 jets are equipped with two GE recorders. One is installed in the front of the jet and the other at the back. Both aircraft have a cockpit data recorder as well as a voice recorder.

A black box is recovered on the roof of a nearby building.

JUNE 16

The second blackbox unit was recovered from the debris on the crash site.

JUNE 24

Indian Air Force aircraft transported the two black boxes separately from Ahmedabad, India to an AAIB laboratory in Delhi.

The team, led by the AAIB Director General and technical members of AAIB and NTSB, began the data extraction in the evening.

JUNE 25

The data from the memory module of the black box unit at the front end of the aircraft was successfully downloaded.

If the power source of the aircraft is lost, the forward recorder has an independent power supply which provides power for the device for approximately 10 minutes.

JULY 12

The preliminary report of Indian investigators indicated that there was no recommendation to Boeing or GE for this stage. This indicates a fault with the aircraft or engine is unlikely.

The report said that one pilot could be heard asking the other pilot on the cockpit recording why he had cut off the gas. The report stated that "the other pilot replied that he had not done so."

The crash report did not specify which flight captain made the remarks and which first officer. Nor did it identify which pilot sent out "Mayday Mayday Mayday" before the crash.

Within a year after the crash, a final report will be expected.

JULY 16

The Wall Street Journal reported that the first officer who was piloting the plane asked the captain, who had more experience, why he put the fuel switches in the "cutoff position" seconds after the plane lifted off the runway.

JULY 17

In a press release, the AAIB stated that "certain sections in international media have repeatedly attempted to draw conclusions by using selective and unverified reports." The AAIB added that the investigation is ongoing and it's too early to make definitive conclusions.

A spokesperson for the board said that the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board was assisting in the Air India investigation, and its chair Jennifer Homendy had been fully briefed about all aspects. The spokesperson said that this included the cockpit voice recordings and the details from the flight recorder, which the NTSB helped the AAIB to read out. Reporting by Abhijith Ganahapavaram, New Delhi. Editing by Jamie Freed

(source: Reuters)