The preliminary report on the Air India plane that crashed on 12 June while en route from Ahmedabad, India, to London has been made public. A total of 260 people lost their lives in the accident. According to the released data, fuel supply to both engines stopped just three seconds after takeoff.
It was stated that while the aircraft was still in its initial climb, the fuel shutoff switches moved from the “run” position to “cutoff,” abruptly cutting off fuel to the engines. This development caused the aircraft to quickly lose thrust and crash.
Cockpit voice recordings revealed that one pilot asked, “Why did you cut the fuel?” and the other responded, “I didn’t.” However, the preliminary report did not provide an explanation as to why this critical change occurred.
U.S. aviation expert John Cox said that it is almost impossible for fuel shutoff switches to be activated accidentally during flight, noting: “These switches are typically used only in emergencies or after the aircraft has landed.” Cox also confirmed that no fire or engine failure signals were recorded at the time of the incident.
No flight ban has been imposed on Boeing 787-8 aircraft or the GE-manufactured GEnx-1B engines following the crash. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau of India announced that no technical or operational restrictions would be applied until the investigation is complete.
Boeing, Air India, and GE Aviation have not yet made any official statements regarding the incident.
This tragic crash is now considered the deadliest civil aviation accident of the past decade.
