A preliminary report regarding the Air India crash that occurred last month, killing 260 people, indicates that the engine fuel switches were moved to the "cutoff" position shortly after takeoff. The report, issued by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on Saturday, does not offer any conclusions or assign blame for the June 12 disaster in Ahmedabad.
The report states that the fuel control switches to the engines were switched off almost simultaneously, just three seconds after the Boeing 787 Dreamliner took off. This action starved the engines of fuel, causing the plane to immediately lose thrust and begin to sink. The 15-page report released on Friday found that the cutoff switches for both engines were switched, one after another, within one second.
According to the cockpit voice recorder, one pilot can be heard asking the other why he cut off the fuel. The other pilot responded that he did not do so. The report does not specify which pilot made which remark, nor does it identify who transmitted the "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday" call just before the crash.
The preliminary report does not explain how the switches could have been flipped to the cutoff position. The switches would normally be on during flight, and it is unclear how or why they were turned off. At the crash site, both fuel switches were found in the run position. There had not been any defects reported relating to the fuel control switch since 2023, according to the preliminary report.
U.S. aviation safety expert John Cox stated that a pilot would not be able to accidentally move the fuel switches that feed the engines. Another U.S. aviation safety expert, Anthony Brickhouse, said a key question is why the switches were moved in a way that is inconsistent with normal operations.
One of the engines began to regain thrust; however, the second engine did not. This led to one of the pilots transmitting a "MAYDAY" call. The left engine on the plane was installed on March 26, and the right engine was installed on May 1, according to the report.
The report does not indicate there was any emergency requiring an engine cutoff. The AAIB said that at this stage of the investigation, there are no recommended actions for Boeing 787-8 and/or GE GEnx-1B engine operators and manufacturers.
The Air India flight AI171 was bound for London Gatwick from Ahmedabad. The crash claimed the lives of 241 people on board, including 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian, as well as 12 crew members. Only one person, British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, survived. The plane crashed in a residential area called Meghani Nagar, killing 19 people on the ground.
Air India has stated that it is working closely with stakeholders, including regulators, and is fully cooperating with the AAIB and other authorities as their investigation progresses.