The report showed that three seconds after taking off, the London-bound plane’s engines fuel cutoff switches almost simultaneously flipped from run to cutoff, starving the engines of fuel.
Rescue officials work at the site where Air India flight 171 crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025. (Picture: Sam Panthaky/Getty Images)
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.
At the crash site, both fuel switches were found in the run position and the report said there had been indications of both engines relighting before the low-altitude crash.
The preliminary report also does not say how the switch could have flipped to the cutoff position on the June 12 flight to London from the Indian city of Ahmedabad.
US aviation safety expert Anthony Brickhouse said a key question is why were the switches moved in a way that is inconsistent with normal operations.
Another American plane 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.
“At this stage of investigation, there are no recommended actions to Boeing 787-8 and/or GE GEnx-1B engine operators and manufacturers” India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said.
WHAT DO THE BLACK BOXES SHOW?
The plane’s two black boxes, both combined cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders, were recovered in the days following the crash and later downloaded in India.
Most air crashes are caused by multiple factors, with a preliminary report due 30 days after the accident according to international rules, and a final report expected within a year.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency said it plans to investigate its budget airline, Air India Express, after Reuters reported the carrier did not follow a directive to change engine parts of an Airbus A320 in a timely manner and falsified records to show compliance.
The US National Transportation Safety Board declined to comment on the release of the report, although NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy previously urged the Indian government to be transparent in the interest of aviation safety.
With Reuters
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