A preliminary investigation into the tragic Air India Flight 171 crash has identified a critical in-flight error: the sudden cutoff of fuel to both engines just seconds after takeoff. The crash, which killed 260 people including 19 on the ground, occurred on June 12 when the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner slammed into a medical college hostel in Ahmedabad, India.
The only survivor was 40-year-old British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who miraculously walked away from the wreckage.
According to a report released by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on July 11, cockpit audio captured a brief but alarming exchange between the two pilots in the final seconds before impact. One voice can be heard asking the other: “Why did you do the cut off?”, referring to the engines. The other pilot denies making the move.
The report confirms that just 30 seconds after takeoff, at a maximum airspeed of 180 knots, both engines lost fuel supply, cut off manually within one second of each other. While the crew attempted to restart the engines, only one was partially recovering when the aircraft crashed at 1:38 p.m. local time.
The AAIB noted: “Immediately after achieving maximum airspeed, the Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF, one after another with a time gap of one second.”
The report doesn’t determine who triggered the switches, or why. Experts say cutting off fuel in flight is only done in extreme emergencies, such as an engine fire. No such emergency was recorded in this case.
Peter Goelz, former managing director of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), called the finding “very disturbing.”
“The details suggest someone in the cockpit shut those valves. The question is, who, and why?” he told the BBC. “There’s likely much more on the cockpit voice recorder than what’s been released. A lone remark isn’t enough.”
The ambiguity has left grieving families frustrated. Imtiyaz Ali, who lost four family members in the crash (including two young children) called the report “cold and technical.”
“It reads like a product description,” he said. “We want to know exactly what happened. It won’t bring them back, but we deserve answers.”
Air India has not yet issued a detailed response to the preliminary findings. The final investigation report is expected to address whether the fuel cutoff was due to human error, mechanical malfunction, or another cause.
READ MORE
- Simulation of Air India flight crash shows exactly how one person managed to survive
- Aviation expert uncovers missed detail in deadly Air India Crash
