Air India crash: Fuel supply cut off shortly after takeoff, first report says

A preliminary investigation report released this Saturday, July 12, highlights the fuel switches on the engines of the Air India Boeing that crashed shortly after takeoff on June 12 , killing 260 people.

A total of 241 people on board the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner were killed, with only one surviving, when the plane crashed into homes shortly after takeoff in the western city of Ahmedabad. Authorities also identified 19 people killed on the ground.

The 15-page report, released by India's Air Accidents Investigation Bureau (AAIB), draws no conclusions or assigns responsibility, but shows that one pilot asked the other why he had cut off the fuel, with the second pilot replying that he had not.

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The Boeing had reached a maximum speed of 180 knots (333 km/h) during takeoff when the fuel switches for the first engine moved from the "run" (open) position to the "cutoff" (off) position and then the second one second later, according to the report. Both engines then began to lose power.

"In the cockpit voice recording, one pilot asks the other why he cut off the fuel supply. The second pilot replies that he did not," the report explains. Less than a minute later, one pilot transmitted the distress signal "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday."

The plane began to lose altitude before it even left the airport perimeter, according to the report. Air traffic controllers asked the pilots what was happening, then saw the plane crash and called for help.

The specialist website The Air Current, citing several sources familiar with the investigation this week, noted that it had recently "focused on the movement of the engines' fuel switches, following an analysis of the aircraft's integrated flight and voice data recorders." The full analysis is expected to take "months, if not longer," and the preferred hypothesis could still evolve.

The Indian Bureau report recalls that the US Federal Aviation Administration had issued an advisory bulletin in 2018 regarding "the potential disengagement of the fuel control switch lockout function."

Air India informed investigators that it had not carried out the suggested inspections because they were "advisable and not mandatory." The airline was complying with all airworthiness directives and alert service bulletins, according to the report. The investigations office said there was "no recommended action for B787-8 engine operators and manufacturers and /or GE GEnx-1B” , suggesting that there were no technical problems with the (GE) engines or the aircraft.

Boeing did not comment on the Indian report. "Our thoughts remain with the loved ones of the passengers and crew of Air India Flight 171, and with all those affected on the ground in Ahmedabad. We continue to support the investigation and our customers," the manufacturer said in a statement. In a statement on X, Air India said it continued to "cooperate fully with the AAIB and other authorities as their investigation progresses."

The investigation is still ongoing, the Indian office added, adding that additional evidence and information have been "requested from stakeholders." The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) stipulates that states leading the investigation must submit a preliminary report within 30 days of an accident. Investigators from the United States and the United Kingdom participated in the investigations.

The plane was carrying 230 passengers—169 Indians, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian—as well as 12 crew members. Dozens of people on the ground were also injured in the crash. Only one passenger survived, a British citizen who pulled himself out of the wreckage of the plane and has since been released from hospital.