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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Fuel to Air India plane was cut off moments before crash, investigation report says
The Air India flight crashed on June 12 and killed at least 260 people, including 19 on the ground. Only one passenger survived the crash, which is one of India’s worst aviation disasters. The plane was carrying 230 passengers — 169 Indians, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian — along with 12 crew members. The report did not recommend any actions for Boeing, which said it “stands ready to support the investigation led by India”“Our deepest condolences go out to the loved ones of the passengers and crew on board Air India Flight 171, as well as everyone affected in Ahmedabad,” Air India said in a statement.“The switch is designed to shut fuel off to the engines. And so, if you operate it, that’s what it will do,” aviation expert Terry Tozer said. “Unfortunately, the altitude was so low that the engines were only beginning to recover and they didn’t have enough time,’ he said.
The report, issued by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, also indicated that both pilots were confused over the change to the switch setting, which caused a loss of engine thrust shortly after takeoff.
The Air India flight — a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner — crashed on June 12 and killed at least 260 people, including 19 on the ground, in the northwestern city of Ahmedabad. Only one passenger survived the crash, which is one of India’s worst aviation disasters.
The plane was carrying 230 passengers — 169 Indians, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian — along with 12 crew members.
According to the report, the flight lasted around 30 seconds between takeoff and crash. It said that once the aircraft achieved its top recorded speed, “the Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another” within a second. The report did not say how the switches could have flipped to the cutoff position during the flight.
The movement of the fuel control switches allows and cuts fuel flow to the plane’s engines.
The switches were flipped back into the run position, the report said, but the plane could not gain power quickly enough to stop its descent after the aircraft had begun to lose altitude.
The report stated: “One of the pilots transmitted ‘MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY’.”
“The switch is designed to shut fuel off to the engines. And so, if you operate it, that’s what it will do. It is also part of a design to reset,” Terry Tozer, aviation expert and former airline pilot, told Sky News.
Tozer said in case of an engine failure, “one of the actions in the non-normal checklist would be to recycle these switches from on to off and back to on again, which would initiate a restart, which is exactly what happened as designed.”
“Unfortunately, the altitude was so low that the engines were only beginning to recover and they didn’t have enough time,” Tozer said, adding that the engine cutoff switches being switched to off “only seconds after liftoff, is absolutely bizarre.”
The report also indicated confusion in the cockpit moments before the crash.
In the flight’s final moment, one pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel. “The other pilot responded that he did not do so,” the report said.
The preliminary report did not recommend any actions for Boeing, which said in a statement that it “stands ready to support the investigation led by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.”
“Our deepest condolences go out to the loved ones of the passengers and crew on board Air India Flight 171, as well as everyone affected in Ahmedabad,” the statement added.
India’s civil aviation minister, Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, said the report’s findings were preliminary and one should not “jump into any conclusions on this.”
“Let us wait for the final report,” Naidu told reporters.
Air India, in a statement, said it is fully cooperating with authorities investigating the crash.
“Air India is working closely with stakeholders, including regulators. We continue to fully cooperate with the AAIB and other authorities as their investigation progresses,” it said.
The plane’s black boxes — combined cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders — were recovered in the days following the crash and later downloaded in India.
Indian authorities had also ordered deeper checks of Air India’s entire Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet to prevent future incidents. Air India has 33 Dreamliners in its fleet.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Fuel to engines cut off before Air India crash, preliminary report says
Preliminary report into crash of London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner finds fuel control switches were cut off moments after takeoff. One of the pilots can be heard asking the other “why did you cut off?” – to which the other pilot replied he “did not do so” The crash in western India on 12 June killed 260 people, most of them passengers. A final, more detailed report is expected in 12 months, with no recommendations for operators of Boeing-787 jets or the GE engines, the report says. The report does not specify which voice is which in recovered cockpit voice recordings of the plane’s final moments before the crash. It is not known whether birds could have been a factor in the crash, but the report said that “no significant bird activity” was observed in the vicinity of the flight path. The US National Transportation Safety Board in a statement thanked Indian officials for their cooperation and noted that there were no recommended actions in the report aimed at operators of B787-8 and GE engines.
In recovered cockpit voice recordings, the report said one of the pilots can be heard asking “why did you cut off?” – to which the other pilot replied he “did not do so”.
The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed less than a minute after taking off on 12 June from Ahmedabad airport in western India, killing 260 people, most of them passengers. One British national miraculously survived the crash.
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An investigation led by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is ongoing, with a final, more detailed report expected in 12 months.
According to data from the flight recorder, both of the plane’s fuel control switches moved from the run to the cutoff position in the space of a second, shortly after takeoff.
The switches are usually only cut off to turn off the engines after landing, or during emergency situations such as an engine fire – rather than during takeoff.
The cutoff caused both engines to lose thrust, the AAIB report said.
There is then confusion heard in the cockpit, with one pilot asking the other why they had switched off the fuel. The Gatwick-bound plane was being piloted by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and co-pilot Clive Kundar. The report does not specify which voice is which.
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The fuel switches then moved back into their normal inflight position, automatically starting the process of relighting the engines. One engine, the report said, was able to regain thrust – but could not reverse the plane’s deceleration.
One of the pilots submitted a mayday call just before the plane plummeted and crashed into a building used as doctors’ accommodation, causing an explosion.
Both pilots had an “adequate rest period prior” to the flight, the report said.
Experts had previously speculated that birds could have caused the crash, but the report said that “no significant bird activity” was observed in the vicinity of the plane’s flight path.
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The report said: “At this stage of investigation, there are no recommended actions to B787-8 and/or GE GEnx-1B engine operators and manufacturers”.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin in 2019 highlighting that some Boeing 737 fuel control switches were installed with the locking feature disengaged, the report said.
The issue was not deemed an unsafe condition requiring an Airworthiness Directive – a legally enforceable regulation.
The same switch design is used in Air India’s VT-ANB aircraft which crashed. As the bulletin was advisory, Air India did not perform inspections.
There had been no defect reported pertaining to the fuel control switch since 2023 on VT-ANB, the report said.
Experts who spoke to the BBC offered differing opinions on whether this could have played a factor.
[BBC]
An Air India spokesperson said the airline acknowledged receipt of the preliminary report.
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“We continue to fully cooperate with the AAIB and other authorities as their investigation progresses. Given the active nature of the investigation, we are unable to comment on specific details and refer all such enquiries to the AAIB,” the Air India spokesperson added.
In a statement, Boeing said it would defer to AAIB to provide information about the crashed plane, in adherence with protocol under the UN International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). It also said it continued to support the investigation and its customer, Air India.
The US National Transportation Safety Board in a statement thanked Indian officials for their cooperation and noted that there were no recommended actions in the report aimed at operators of Boeing-787 jets or the GE engines.
While no conclusions are drawn and the report notes that investigations are ongoing, the focus appears to be on the actions of the pilots.
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The preliminary investigation into the crash – one of the worst in recent aviation history – was led by the AAIB, with inputs from Boeing, engine-maker GE, Air India, and aviation regulators from India, the UK and the US.
Under ICAO rules, preliminary reports should be filed within 30 days of a crash, although it isn’t mandatory to make them public.
The accident marked the first time a 787-8 Dreamliner suffered a fatal crash since entering service in 2011.
In the days following the crash, the aircraft’s Enhanced Airborne Flight Recorders (EAFRs) – or “black boxes” – were recovered from the debris, a crucial breakthrough for investigators looking to reconstruct the flight’s final moments.
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These devices capture extensive flight data and cockpit audio – from pilot radio calls to ambient cockpit sounds.
The crash is a major setback for Air India, which is in the middle of a business turnaround following its privatisation. It was bought out by the Tata Group from the Indian government in 2022.
The airline has announced a cut in international operations on its wide-body aircraft as it grapples with several disruptions in the aftermath of the crash.
The tragedy has also put the spotlight on aviation safety in India.
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Earlier this month, India’s civil aviation regulator completed enhanced safety checks on 26 out of Air India’s 33 Dreamliners without finding major concerns.
Speaking to the BBC this week, the chief of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) – India’s aviation safety regulator – defended the country’s record, saying that between 2010 and 2024 it consistently performed better than the world average when it came to the number of accidents annually, except for in two years in which major accidents happened.
However, there have been a number of disquieting reports in recent weeks, highlighting maintenance oversights and training shortfalls.
Air India crash preliminary report brings little comfort for victims’ families
Air India Flight 171 crashed into a hostel at Ahmedabad’s BJ Medical College, killing 260 people, including children and entire families. India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau released its preliminary report, confirming that both fuel control switches were moved to “cut off” just seconds after take-off. But the report does not explain how or why the switches were move, offering little clarity or comfort to the families left behind. Ravi Thakor says he learned about the nature of the fatal crash that killed his daughter and mother via social media. B S Saiyad, who lost his brother, sister-in-law and niece in the crash, says he also found the preliminary report confusing. He is calling for complete transparency to determine exactly what caused the fatal incident, and calls for the pilot to be cleared of any involvement in the accident. The final report into the crash will be released in the next few days, and will be made public at the end of the month. For confidential support call the Samaritans in the UK on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or click here for details.
The disaster left behind scorched buildings and devastated lives.
A month on from the fatal Air India Flight 171 crash in Ahmedabad, the site of the collision remains blackened. (ABC News: Bhat Burhan)
On Saturday, India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau released its preliminary report, confirming that both fuel control switches were moved to “cut off” just seconds after take-off, shutting down the engines and causing the Boeing 787 to lose thrust.
But the report does not explain how or why the switches were moved, offering little clarity or comfort to the families left behind.
Victims’ traumatised families call for clarity in final crash report
In a narrow alley in Ahmedabad, 32-year-old Ravi Thakor sits on a wooden cot inside his modest home, scrolling through old videos of his daughter playing.
Today would have been her second birthday.
Ravi Thakor, centre, says he learned about the nature of the fatal crash that killed his daughter and mother via social media. (ABC News: Bhat Burhan)
Instead of celebrating, Mr Thakor is mourning his daughter Aadhya and his mother Sarla Ben, who were both killed when the plane crashed into the BJ Medical College hostel mess where she worked.
“I learnt from social media that both engines shut down and there was something wrong with the fuel,” he told the ABC.
The preliminary report said both fuel switches were cut off just seconds after take-off, then switched back on, but the engines never recovered enough power before the plane slammed into the ground.
Mr Thakor says there will be many family members of crash victims who find the information in a preliminary report into the crash confusing. (ABC News: Bhat Burhan)
Cockpit audio captured one pilot asking the other why the fuel had been cut off, and the other replying that he hadn’t done it.
Mr Thakor says the findings are confusing and only deepen his questions.
“There will be many like us who are not that educated and don’t understand what has been written [in the report],” he said.
” This was an international flight with many experts involved with it. Still no-one picked up on such a huge mistake. The final report must explain it. They have a responsibility — so many lives were lost. ”
Framed photographs in the Thakor home, in tribute to Aadhya and Sarla Ben Thakor, who were killed in the crash. (ABC News: Bhat Burhan)
Mr Thakor says the trauma of that night still haunts him.
“A whole iron cupboard melted in the area my mum used to cook in. Imagine what would happen to a person,” he said.
“We have seen the charred bodies with our eyes. We have felt it. I can still smell the stench; it’s in my nose. How would it have been for them?”
Confusion remains over pilot involvement ahead of crash
Not far from Mr Thakor’s home, another family is grappling with the same grief.
BS Saiyad lost his brother Inayat, as well as Inayat’s wife and daughter, in the crash. He, too, has read the preliminary findings, and finds them contradictory.
B S Saiyad, who lost his brother, sister-in-law and niece in the crash, says he also found the preliminary report confusing. (ABC News: Bhat Burhan)
“It seems like the pilot is being blamed. But the way the report is set out, it also looks like the pilot is innocent,” Mr Saiyad said.
“If this investigation is to be done transparently, there can’t be any prejudice.”
Aviation experts say the design of the fuel cut-off switches makes an accidental error unlikely.
Mr Saiyad is calling for complete transparency in a final report into the crash, to determine exactly what caused the fatal incident. (ABC News: Bhat Burhan)
Guard brackets prevent the switches from being knocked or moved into the off position by mistake, and a stop-lock mechanism requires pilots to lift the switch before changing its position.
The report outlined the sequence of events: the fuel switches moved to cut-off almost simultaneously, power was lost, the switches were reset, but by then the aircraft was too low to recover.
Air India plane’s fuel switches flipped off before deadly crash Photo shows A tail of a plane that crashed is seen stuck on a building A preliminary report on the Air India crash that killed 260 people in Ahmedabad last month says the plane’s engine fuel switches were flipped off three seconds after take-off.
As for a possible mechanical fault, the AAIB says there is no evidence at this stage to recommend changes for Boeing or GE, the engine manufacturer.
The 56-year-old commanding pilot, Sumeet Sabharwal, and his 32-year-old co-pilot, Clive Kunder, had a combined 9,000 hours of flight time on the 787. Both were rested and breath-tested before take-off.
Air India says it’s cooperating fully with the investigation.
The Indian civil aviation minister has urged the public to be patient.
“Let’s not jump to any conclusions at this stage,” Ram Mohan Naidu said.
“Let us wait for the final report.”
No solace for grieving families while final report takes months
As investigators continue analysing flight data, wreckage, post-mortem reports and witness statements, the final report could take months.
The first report on the deadly Air India crash is out Photo shows A crashed plane In the weeks since the deadly Air India crash, questions have swirled around exactly what happened. Finally, there are some answers.
For families like the Thakors and the Saiyads, however, the preliminary findings offer little solace.
“If this report means that future lives can be saved it’s a good thing. But it’s not going to make a difference to us,” Mr Saiyad said.
“Sometimes I dream about calling Inayat and stopping him from leaving.”
On what should have been a day of celebration, Mr Thakor spent his daughter’s second birthday looking at her photos and videos, still asking why she had to die.
“We thought this year we’d take her to the temple … let her grandparents bless her,” he said quietly.
“But now, she’s gone.”
The first report on the deadly Air India crash is out — what did it reveal?
Air India Flight AI-171 crashed in a residential area in Ahmedabad in India. Just 32 seconds after take-off, it crashed into a built-up area, erupting in flames. Of the 242 people on board, only one person survived, with an additional 19 others killed on the ground. A full two hours of audio was recovered from the plane’s black boxes, including from “the event” Experts say you can’t just “bump” these switches by accident, as they are designed with a locking mechanism that prevents “inadvertent movement” The fuel control switches are switched to the “cut-off position” when a plane pulls up to a gate. The only other potential time would be in a “non-normal situation” — if one of the engines has caught fire or suffered damage. The crew was breathalysed and “found fit” to operate the flight, according to the report. The report didn’t clarify which remarks were made by the first officer and which by the captain.
On the morning of June 12, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner took off from Ahmedabad in India, destined for London.
But just 32 seconds after take-off, it crashed into a built-up area, erupting in flames.
Of the 242 people on board, only one person survived, with an additional 19 others killed on the ground.
Hundreds were killed in the Air India crash. (Reuters: Adnan Abidi)
In the weeks since, questions have swirled around exactly what happened in the lead-up to that deadly crash.
Finally, a preliminary report has been released.
So what exactly has it revealed?
What has the report revealed?
The report by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) uncovered a major detail.
Just three seconds after take-off, the plane’s fuel control switches were flipped off.
This abruptly stopped all fuel supply to the plane, and the aircraft immediately started to lose thrust (the force that moves a plane through the air) and altitude.
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Airport CCTV footage shows a back-up energy source called a ram air turbine was then deployed, indicating a loss of power from the engines.
Seconds later, the fuel control switches were flipped back on.
But it was too late.
Did the pilots say anything?
Yes.
In the flight’s final moments, one pilot was heard on the cockpit’s voice recorder, asking the other pilot why he cut off the fuel.
The other pilot responded that he “did not do so”.
Air India Flight AI-171 crashed in a residential area in Ahmedabad in India. (AP: Central Industrial Security Force)
Just before the crash, a pilot transmitted “MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY”.
The report didn’t clarify which remarks were made by the first officer and which by the captain.
Was anything else said?
We don’t know yet.
According to the report, a full two hours of audio was recovered from the plane’s black boxes, including from “the event”.
Investigators inspect the site of the Air India crash. (ABC News: Bhat Burhan)
Steve Cornell is a 737 captain and safety and technical director at the Australian International Pilots Association.
He says it’s “unlikely” the pilots didn’t say anything else between the initial exchange and the Mayday call.
“It’s not the situation where you would just both be sitting there very quietly,” he said.
“It’ll be a very busy time trying to work out what had happened and trying to fix it.”
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Who were the pilots?
The commanding pilot was Sumeet Sabharwal.
The 56-year-old had 15,638 hours of flying experience and was also an Air India instructor, according to the Indian government.
His co-pilot was Clive Kunder, 32, who had 3,403 hours of experience.
They’d both flown a combined 9,000 hours on the 787.
They both had an “adequate rest period” before the flight, according to the report.
The crew was also breathalysed and “found fit” to operate the flight.
People stand around the debris of the plane after its crash in Ahmedabad. (Reuters: Ajit Solanki)
How were the switches flipped?
The report didn’t say.
Experts say you can’t just “bump” these switches by accident, as they are designed with a locking mechanism that prevents “inadvertent movement”.
“It means that almost certainly, one of the pilots — who would be the only people able to access those switches — has made the decision to physically switch the fuel off to the engines,” aviation expert Keith Tonkin said.
Aviation experts say flipping a plane’s fuel control switches takes an intentional movement. (ABC News)
Captain Cornell also said unlike the thrust levers, the fuel control switches aren’t connected to the plane’s autopilot.
So the plane couldn’t have somehow malfunctioned and flipped the switches to “cut-off” by itself.
“The only thing that can affect their position is something that we do as pilots,” he said.
When would the switches be flipped off?
The fuel control switches are switched to the “cut-off” position when a plane pulls up to a gate after landing.
The only other potential time would be in a “non-normal situation” — for instance, if one of the engines has caught fire or suffered damage such as might occur in a bird strike.
A twin-engine aircraft (like the Air India plane) is certified to fly on one engine.
Parts of the crashed Air India plane in Ahmedabad, India. (AP: Rafiq Maqbool)
So in scenarios like these, it would be normal to turn off a single fuel control switch when directed to by a checklist — after cross-checking it with your co-pilot — but not both, and especially not this close to the ground, Captain Cornell said.
In an extremely rare situation where both engines are damaged, he said it would be safer to keep the engines “burning and turning” until the plane can be turned around and safely landed.
A relative grieves near the coffins of Air India plane crash victims. (AP: Rafiq Maqbool)
What else did the report reveal?
The report also revealed other details about the aircraft.
It was almost 5,000 kilograms under the maximum take-off weight, and “within allowable limits”.
There were no dangerous goods on the aircraft.
There was “no significant bird activity” in the area of the flight path.
Has Air India responded to the report?
Air India acknowledged the report in a statement on social media site X.
It said it’s cooperating with Indian authorities but declined to comment further.
What’s next?
A final report is expected within a year.
India’s AAIB said at this stage, there are “no recommended actions to Boeing 787-8 and/or GEnx-1B engine operators and manufacturers”.
A final report on the Air India crash is expected within a year. (AP: Kevin Frayer)
In the meantime, Captain Cornell says there are still “more questions than answers”.
“The interim report provides adequate detail on the disposition of the aircraft, but doesn’t explain why — during what up until that point was a normal take-off — the fuel control switches were moved to the cut-off position,” he said.