An initial probe has determined that an interruption in fuel delivery to the engines was the cause of last month’s devastating Air India crash, which resulted in the deaths of 260 people.
The London-bound flight had just departed from Ahmedabad airport when it suddenly fell from the sky. Of all those on board, only one individual made it out alive.
According to a report from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, reviewed by CNN, the cockpit’s fuel control switches on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner had been deactivated, leading to a complete engine shutdown due to fuel starvation.
An early inquiry has concluded that the fatal Air India crash last month, which took 260 lives, was triggered by a sudden stop in fuel reaching the engines.
The jet, en route to London, had barely taken off from Ahmedabad airport before crashing. Remarkably, just one person made it through alive.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau of India, in findings cited by CNN, reported that the Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s fuel control switches had been manually switched off in the cockpit, cutting engine power entirely.
Moments later, the switches were returned to their correct positions, and the engines had begun restarting when the aircraft went down.
In the Boeing 787, these fuel shutoff controls are located between the captain and co-pilot, just behind the throttle levers. They are shielded by a metal guard and equipped with a locking system to prevent them from being switched off unintentionally.