Indian forensic investigators have identified all 260 people killed in last month’s crash of a London-bound passenger plane, health authorities said Wednesday, ahead of a hugely anticipated preliminary report into what went wrong.
India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is leading the probe into one of the deadliest air disasters in decades — with an initial report expected on Friday.
All but one of the 242 people aboard the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner were killed when it crashed on June 12.
It ploughed into housing just after takeoff in the western city of Ahmedabad, and authorities have also identified 19 people killed on the ground.
No details have been released about the probe, in which British and US air accident investigation agencies have also taken part.
But specialist website The Air Current, citing multiple sources familiar with the investigation, reported it had “narrowed its focus to the movement of the engine fuel switches”, while noting that full analysis will “take months — if not longer”.
It added that “the focus of the investigators could change during that time”.
But “at this point in the inquiry, the data available to investigators does not indicate a mechanical or design issue” with the 787 plane, or its engines.
The site said its sources “indicated that post-accident analysis showed no sign of fuel contamination or improper retraction of the aircraft’s flaps”, over which there had been speculation.
