Recovered cockpit voice recordings from last month’s deadly Air India crash reveal a moment of confusion between the pilots after the aircraft’s engines abruptly lost fuel just seconds after takeoff.
The engines of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner – which crashed and caused the world’s deadliest aviation accident in a decade – were starved of fuel when the engine cutoff switches suddenly flipped mid-flight, according to a preliminary report released Saturday by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB).
The London-bound jetliner began crashing less than a minute after taking off on June 12 from Ahmedabad airport in western India, killing a total of 260 people and miraculously leaving one British national as the sole survivor.
According to the report, one pilot is heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other “why did he cutoff,” to which the other responded that “he did not do so.” The voices were not attributed to either pilot Captain Sumeet Sabharwal or co-pilot Clive Kundar.
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Investigators found that the fuel control switches had flipped from “run” to “cutoff” almost simultaneously shortly after liftoff. However, the report did not clarify how or why the switches changed positions. These switches are typically used to shut down engines after landing or in emergency situations, such as an engine fire—not during takeoff.
At the crash site, both fuel switches were found in the “run” position, indicating that the engines were automatically relit but were not able to quickly reverse the plane’s rapid loss of thrust, the report said.
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The crash has raised renewed scrutiny over the design and placement of the critical fuel cutoff switches.
The report noted that in 2019, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) warning that some Boeing 737 fuel switches had been installed with their locking features disengaged. However, the issue was not considered hazardous enough to require mandatory repairs or actions under federal aviation rules.
The same switch design was used in Air India’s doomed aircraft, but Air India did not perform inspections as the alert was advisory.
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Air India confirmed in a statement that the airline had received the AAIB’s preliminary report and said it would continue cooperating fully with investigators.
“Air India stands in solidarity with the families and those affected by the AI171 accident,” Air India said. “We continue to mourn the loss and are fully committed to providing support during this difficult time.”
“Air India is working closely with stakeholders, including regulators,” Air India continued. “We continue to fully cooperate with the AAIB and other authorities as their investigation progresses.”
AAIB is expected to produce a more detailed report in 12 months.
Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
