Unexplained Fuel Cut-Off Eyed in Air India Crash That Killed 260

Questions have swirled over what caused an Air India jet to crash into a residential neighbourhood shortly after take-off last month, killing 260 people.

Preliminary findings by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) about the June 12 disaster suggests an answer, but also deepens the mystery: the fuel control switches for both engines on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner were nearly simultaneously flipped to the "cut-off" position seconds after departure.

The cockpit voice recorder captured the confusion as the London-bound plane experienced a sudden loss of thrust and began to descend over a residential area of Ahmedabad, in western India.

The 15-page report released on Saturday notes that one pilot can be heard asking the other: "Why did you cut-off?" The other responds: "I didn't do it." There were two pilots - the captain and the co-pilot - and investigators said they have yet to determine who was speaking.

In the event of an engine failure, pilots can use these switches to manually restart or shut down an engine.

The switches are spring-loaded to prevent them from being accidentally moved.

Aviation expert Graham Braithwaite from Cranfield University told the BBC that if a pilot wanted to operate the switch, he would have to "lift it and move very positively the position."

The switches were flipped from the "cut-off" position back to the "run" position seconds later, the report said - but it was too late to save the plane.

The aircraft, carrying 242 people, crashed into a building less than minute after take-off and burst into flames. All but one of the passengers — a British national — were killed, along with 19 people on the ground.

Emergency system deployed

Investigators found no signs of a bird strike or external impact, noting that the aircraft had already begun losing altitude before it even cleared the airport perimeter wall.

Airport surveillance footage showed the deployment of the jet's emergency Ram Air Turbine — a small propeller that generates hydraulic or electrical power — during the plane's brief climb. The system is typically activated in critical power-loss situations.

No recommendations for Boeing

At this stage of the investigation, the bureau issued no recommendations for Boeing or for the GE GEnx-1B engines used on the aircraft.

Experts from Boeing, the US Federal Aviation Administration, and engine manufacturer General Electric are assisting with the probe.

Air India confirmed it had received the preliminary findings but declined to comment further. "Given the active nature of the investigation, we are unable to comment on specific details and refer all such enquiries to the AAIB," the company posted on X.