Investigators are focusing on cockpit actions taken by the captain of the Air India Dreamliner that crashed last month, killing 260 people. A cockpit voice recording, cited in a Wall Street Journal report, suggests the captain may have cut off fuel to the engines shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad on June 12.
The Indian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released a preliminary report stating the engine fuel switches moved from “run” to “cutoff” within seconds of lift-off. One pilot can be heard asking why the fuel was cut, while the other denies doing so. Investigators have not confirmed whether the action was taken by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal or First Officer Clive Kunder.
According to the report, Kunder was flying the plane when the switches were flipped. Experts cited by the Journal said it’s unlikely the pilot in control would move the switches at such a critical moment, raising questions about a possible misstep by the captain. However, the report offers no mechanical or maintenance failures and no clear evidence on how the switches were moved.
Almost immediately after takeoff, the plane lost engine power, triggering the deployment of a ram air turbine, a backup energy system. The engines tried to restart, but the aircraft was already too low and slow to recover. It clipped trees and a chimney before crashing into a building on a nearby medical college campus. Only one passenger survived, and 19 people on the ground also died.
The crash has renewed debate about installing cockpit image recorders on commercial planes. Aviation safety expert John Nance said a video could have helped determine what happened. Meanwhile, the FAA and Boeing have privately affirmed the safety of fuel switch mechanisms, as the probe continues into whether the tragic crash was due to pilot error or other contributing factors.