AI crash: Fuel switches in focus

A preliminary report into the deadly crash of an Air India jetliner in June is expected to be released by Friday, three people with knowledge of the matter said, with one adding the probe had narrowed its focus to the movement of the plane’s fuel control switches.

- Reuters [e-mail]

The London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which started losing height after reaching an altitude of 650 feet, crashed moments after takeoff from Ahmedabad, India, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and the rest on the ground.

The probe into the crash is focusing on the movement of the engine fuel control switches following an analysis of the 787’s flight and voice data recorders, along with a simulation by Boeing of the aircraft's final moments, one of the people said. The investigation has not raised any immediate concerns over mechanical failure, they said, and there has been no bulletin to airlines recommending changes to 787 operations.

Boeing declined to comment.