A preliminary investigation into last month’s Air India crash has revealed that the fuel control switches for both engines were moved from the “run” to the “cutoff” position moments before the aircraft went down, cutting off fuel and leading to engine failure.
According to the report from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, this change in switch position — which occurred shortly after takeoff — caused the engines to lose thrust. The report also suggested that the pilots were confused by the switch change.
Death toll in India plane crash rises to 270 as more bodies recovered
The crash involved a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner on June 12 in Ahmedabad, killing at least 260 people, including 19 on the ground. Only one passenger survived, making it one of the deadliest air disasters in India’s history.
The aircraft was carrying 230 passengers — including 169 Indians, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese citizens, and one Canadian — along with 12 crew members.
Investigators reported that the flight lasted only about 30 seconds. After reaching its peak recorded speed, the fuel cutoff switches for both engines were flipped from “run” to “cutoff” within a second of each other. The report does not clarify how or why this occurred mid-flight.
These switches control the flow of fuel to the engines, and moving them to the “cutoff” position effectively starves the engines of fuel. Although they were returned to the “run” position, the engines could not recover power in time to prevent the crash.
A distress call of “MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY” was recorded from one of the pilots, the report stated. Cockpit voice recordings also captured a moment of confusion, with one pilot asking the other why the fuel had been cut off — to which the other pilot replied that he had not done it.
The report, still in its preliminary stage, does not suggest any corrective actions for Boeing.
Air India has stated it is cooperating fully with investigators. “We are working with all relevant authorities and will continue to support the ongoing investigation,” the airline said in a statement.
Black boxes, which include cockpit voice and flight data recordings, were recovered shortly after the crash and analyzed in India.
In response to the incident, Indian aviation authorities have mandated additional inspections of Air India’s fleet of 33 Boeing 787 Dreamliners to ensure safety going forward.