Fuel Was Cut Off Before Air India Crash

 

“Indian authorities confirmed that fuel-control switches on an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner that crashed on June 12 had been turned off shortly after takeoff, but said they had been turned back on before impact.

 

In a preliminary report Friday, India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said both were switched from "run" to "cutoff" -- one after the other, with a second in between -- once the aircraft reached a speed of 180 knots, just seconds after lifting off. That cut the two engines' fuel supply.

 

There was also apparent confusion about the situation between pilots in the cockpit.

 

"In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff," the report said. "The other pilot responded that he did not do so."

 

About 10 seconds later, both switches were turned back on. But the engines couldn't apparently fully restart and regain thrust fast enough.

 

"If they would have had another few hundred feet of altitude or another 20 seconds of time, those engines would have relit," said Jeff Guzzetti, a former U.S. senior accident investigator.

 

After approximately 10 more seconds, one of the pilots called out on the radio: "Mayday mayday mayday."

 

Air-traffic controllers reached out but didn't get a response, and saw the London-bound jet crash nearby -- killing all but one of the 242 passengers and crew on board, as well as several people on the ground in Ahmedabad.

 

The preliminary report left unanswered whether an accident or intentional act led to the switch movement. It said there aren't any recommendations for Boeing, engine-maker GE Aerospace or operators of the aircraft at this stage.

 

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, which certified the Dreamliner's design, said it is "committed to promptly addressing any risks identified throughout the process."

 

U.S. pilots who fly the 787 said the fuel-control switches would be difficult to move by accident.

 

"They have a guard that protects them physically and then each switch itself has a mechanical mechanism where you don't just flick it, you have to kind of pull it up and then flick it," Guzzetti said.

 

But the report raises the possibility of a potential issue with a locking feature for fuel-control switches, though its connection to the accident investigation wasn't immediately clear.

 

The report notes that the FAA in 2018 issued a bulletin about "potential disengagement" of such features on another Boeing jet, the 737.

 

The report said the locking mechanism was similar on various Boeing models, including certain 787s. The report said Air India didn't inspect its planes' switches because the FAA advisory wasn't mandatory. It also said the accident aircraft's throttle control module had twice been replaced for reasons unrelated to the fuel-control switch.

 

Indian authorities said they had tested fuel samples, examined crash-site wreckage and were analyzing data from the plane's black boxes.

 

An Air India spokesman said the airline is fully cooperating with investigators, but declined to comment on details in the report.” [1]

 

1. World News: Fuel Was Cut Off Before Air India Crash. Tangel, Andrew.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 12 July 2025: A10.