Fuel switches to engines on Air India flight were cut-off

Preliminary findings on crash last month of London-bound Boeing 787 reveals pilot confusion about position of switches

- ALEX ROSS

A preliminary report into the Air India crash that killed 260 people last month reveals that three seconds after takeoff fuel switches to the plane's two engines were flipped to cutoff, starving them of fuel.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner immediately began to lose thrust and sink down, according to the report released by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.

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.

It did not identify which remarks were made by the flight's captain and which by the first officer, nor which pilot transmitted "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday" just before the crash.

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 commanding pilot of the Air India plane was Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, who had a total flying experience of 15,638 hours and, according to the Indian government, was also an Air India instructor. His copilot was Clive Kunder, 32, who had 3,403 hours of total experience.

The preliminary report also does not say how the switch could have flipped to the cutoff position on the 12 June London-bound flight from the Indian city of Ahmedabad.