Air India Cockpit Recording Suggests Captain Cut Fuel Supply

WSJ cites people familiar with US officials' early assessment of uncovered evidence

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A cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots of the Air India flight that crashed in June indicates the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane's engines, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on July 16.

The newspaper cited people familiar with US officials' early assessment of evidence uncovered in the investigation into the June 12 crash in Ahmedabad, India, that killed 260 people.

A preliminary report on the crash, released by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on July 12, said one pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he had cut off the fuel, to which "the other pilot responded that he did not do so".

Investigators did not identify which remarks were made by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and which by First Officer Clive Kunder, who had total flying experience of 15,638 hours and 3,403 hours respectively.

Mr. Kunder, who was flying the plane, asked Mr. Sabharwal why he moved the fuel switches to the "cutoff" position seconds after lifting off the runway, WSJ reported.

The Journal did not say whether there was any evidence beyond the verbal exchange that Mr. Sabharwal had moved the switches.