Fuel switches cut off before Air India plane crashed — Report

A cut in the fuel supply to the engines caused last month’s Air India crash that killed 260 people, according to a preliminary report.

Recall that the London-bound plane had barely left the runway at Ahmedabad airport when it hurtled back to earth.

Everyone on board was killed, except for one passenger.

The fuel control switches in the cockpit of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner had been flipped, starving the engines of fuel, according to the report by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.

Investigators were able to get data out of the plane’s “black box” recorders, including 49 hours of flight data and two hours of cockpit audio, including from the crash.

The aircraft had reached an airspeed of 180 knots when both engines’ fuel cutoff switches were “transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of 01 sec.

“In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why he cut off. The other pilot responded that he did not do so,” the report read.

Shortly after, the switches were reversed back to where they should have been, and the engines were in the process of powering back up when the crash happened.

On the 787, the fuel cutoff switches are between the two pilots’ seats, immediately behind the plane’s throttle levers. They are protected on the sides by a metal bar and have a locking mechanism designed to prevent accidental cutoff.

“When fuel control switches are moved from CUTOFF to RUN while the aircraft is in flight, each engine’s full authority dual engine control automatically manages a relight and thrust recovery sequence of ignition and fuel introduction,” the report stated.

Seconds after the engines attempted to relight, one pilot called out, “MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY.” The controller called out for the plane’s callsign, but didn’t get a response and watched the plane crash in the distance.

The captain of the flight was a 56-year-old who had flown more than 15,000 hours in his career. The first officer was a 32-year-old man with over 3,400 flying hours.

Investigators also noted that the settings on the equipment found in the wreckage was normal for takeoff.

The plane’s fuel was tested and found to be of satisfactory quality, and no significant bird activity was observed in the vicinity of the flight path, according to the report.

The takeoff weight for the plane was found to be within allowable limits, and there were no “Dangerous Goods” on the aircraft. Investigators found the flaps on the wings of the plane were set in the 5-degree position, which is correct for takeoff, and the landing gear lever was in the down position.

The left engine was installed on the plane on March 26, and the right was installed on May 1, the report said.

Air India flight 171 took off from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in India’s western state of Gujarat on June 12. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was headed to London Gatwick and scheduled to land at 6:25 p.m. local time.

The flight had 242 passengers and crew members were on board. That included 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese and one Canadian.

In addition to those on board, a number of people on the ground were killed when the plane crashed into the BJ Medical College and Hospital hostel.

The crash resulted in 260 fatalities total, according to the report. A number of the dead on the ground resulted from the plane hitting the hostel.

Air India acknowledged that it received the report and said it will continue cooperating with authorities in the investigation.

“Air India stands in solidarity with the families and those affected by the AI171 accident. We continue to mourn the loss and are fully committed to providing support during this difficult time,” the airline posted to X on Saturday (local time).

(CNN)

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