Fuel control switches were switched from “run” to “cutoff”, before an Air India plane crashed last month, a preliminary investigation report by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Burea revealed early on Saturday.
Shortly after takeoff, and once the plane reached its top recorded speed of 180 knots, “the Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another” within a second, which caused a loss of engine thrust moments after it left the runway, the report revealed.
Shortly after both switches had been turned off, they were flipped back into the run position. One of the pilots transmitted “MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY,” however, the plane could not gain power quickly enough after it had begun to lose altitude.
The flight lasted around 30 seconds before it crashed.
The report also revealed that, prior to the crash, one pilot could be heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking why the other had cut off the fuel. The other pilot responded that he had not done so.
The report does not state how the switch could have been flipped to the cut-off position, and did not recommend any actions to the Boeing.
Engine switches are usually used by pilots to manually start or stop engines on the ground, or in the case of engine failure during a flight.
Aviation experts revealed that it is not possible to accidentally move the switches, due to their placement behind the thrust levers and the designed locking mechanism to avoid accidental switch-off.
On June 12, the Air India, London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed in India’s northwestern city of Ahmedabad. Shortly after crossing the airport perimeter wall, the aircraft starting losing altitude, and eventually crashed into a medical staff hostel.
The plane was carrying 230 passengers, everyone on board except for one passenger was killed.
Air India 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 in a statement.
