A pilot has revealed that there are two specific words that Swiss pilots will always say before a plane crash – it is said to be a part of aviation culture in the country
The world is still desperate for answers on exactly how the Air India plane crash unfolded, and investigators are getting closer and closer with fresh evidence.
Officials working on the probe now believe that the horrific catastrophe could have been caused by the aircraft running on emergency power.
Last Thursday, the Boeing Dreamliner plane hurtled to the ground in Ahmedabad, India mere seconds after taking off. The plane crashed into a medical college building, killing a total of 270 people – including all but one of the 242 passengers on board.
READ MORE: ‘It got stuck’: Air India plane crash survivor reveals exact moment he knew something was wrong
Now investigators are said to have found evidence that an emergency generator may have been the jet’s primary power source at the time it went down. One leading theory is that the plane suffered a dual engine failure, though what triggered this is yet to be determined.
The ongoing probe is also set to study the pilots’ last words for any clues on the cause of the crash, after recovering the cockpit voice recorder from the wreckage.
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who had 8,200 hours of flying experience, and his co-pilot Clive Kundar, with 1,100 hours of experience, sent a mayday call seconds after the plane left the runway.
The captain desperately said: “Mayday…no thrust, losing power, unable to lift.” Sadly, the pilots were unable to nudge up the nose of the aircraft – and it came down just 1.5 miles beyond the end of the runway.
For years, the final words of pilots have been used to analyse what went wrong in aviaton disasters. And pilots hailing from Switzerland are said to have a hidden agreement on the last phrase they utter before their demise.
Richard Paul, a pilot and economist, once revealed what those words are in a post on Quora. “Goodbye everybody” is the phrase they always say, the insider wrote.
“It’s what Swiss pilots are supposed to say just before they meet their demise,” he hauntingly revealed, according to The Express.
He said it’s a practice is deeply rooted in the culture of Swiss captains, adding: “It’s an informal agreement among pilots.”
This has been the case in historic plane crashes, including the 1970 Swiss Air disaster, Richard noted. “These were the last spoken words by Captain Karl Berlinger on his flight Swissair SR 330 from Zürich to Tel Aviv on February 21, 1970.”
Reports from the time confirm that this was the case – the parting words were said at precisely 1:34pm, conveyed clearly to the ground control.
A bomb set by terrorists detonated aboard the aircraft, sparking the catastrophic event. The fateful statement from the captain came approximately 15 minutes prior to impact.
An attempt for an emergency landing failed due to the extensive smoke emanating from the explosive device.
The act of terrorism resulted in the deaths of everyone onboard, including 38 travellers and nine crew members.