Preliminary report on Air India Boeing crash released
Last month’s Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crash was caused by the fuel supply to the engines being shut off, a preliminary report by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has found.
The UK-bound plane carrying 242 people crashed into a residential area in Ahmedabad, India shortly after takeoff on June 12. Only one person on board survived. Nineteen people on the ground were also killed.
According to the report released on Saturday, cockpit switches controlling the fuel supply were moved to the ‘cut off’ position seconds after takeoff, shutting off fuel to both engines.
The report states that in the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking why the fuel switch was cut off. “The other pilot responded that he did not do so,” the report says, noting that seconds after the exchange, the plane began losing altitude.
One engine restarted when the switches were turned back on, but the plane continued to descend, and one of the pilots issued a Mayday call. The plane was airborne for only 32 seconds and traveled 0.9 nautical miles before it crashed.
The report does not state whether the switches were manually or accidentally flipped. It does not attribute the remarks it mentions to either the captain or first officer, nor does it identify who issued the distress call.
The investigators have ruled out fuel quality issues, overloading, bird strikes, and the presence of hazardous cargo. All systems were reportedly normal at takeoff. The report does not currently recommend action against Boeing, which built the aircraft, or General Electric, the engine manufacturer. Both companies, along with the US Federal Aviation Administration and UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch, are involved in the ongoing investigation.
Commenting on the report, Indian Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu urged the public to not “jump to conclusions,” stressing that it is based on early findings and “many technicalities” remain unresolved. Air India acknowledged the report in a statement on X and said it is cooperating with the authorities, but declined further comment.
Experts earlier cited potential crew error, mechanical failure, or incorrect takeoff settings as possible causes of the tragedy. Following the crash, India’s aviation regulator ordered safety checks on all Air India Dreamliners.
Boeing has faced growing scrutiny over safety issues in recent years. Its 737 MAX plane was grounded around the world from 2019 to 2020 following two fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed 346 people.
