Engine fuel switches cut off before Air India crash that killed 260, preliminary report finds

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: The Guardian

This report found that switches in the cockpit that controlled fuel moved to a “cutoff” position.

It said: “The aircraft achieved the maximum recorded airspeed of 180 knots IAS [indicated airspeed] at about 08:08:42 UTC and immediately thereafter, the engine 1 and engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of 1 second.
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One pilot can be 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.
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A US aviation safety expert, John Cox, said a pilot would not be able to accidentally move the fuel switches that feed the engines. “You can’t bump them and they move,” he said.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/11/engine-fuel-switches-cut-off-before-air-india-crash-that-killed-260-report-finds