A preliminary report into the Air India crash last month, which left at least 270 people dead, indicates that fuel to the plane’s engines was shut off just seconds after the plane lifted off.
According to the report, shortly after takeoff, the plane’s fuel cutoff switches for both engines went from the “RUN” position to the “CUTOFF” position, one after another within one second — shutting off fuel to both engines.
In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why he hit the cutoff switch. “The other pilot responded that he did not do so,” the report stated.
About 10 seconds later, the fuel flow was restored to the engines and the automatic restart sequence was initiated, but there was not enough time to prevent the plane from crashing.
Just over 20 seconds after the “CUTOFF” switch was hit, one of the pilots transmitted “MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY,” the report stated.
The black box stopped recording a few seconds later.
The Air India airliner carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members was on its way to the United Kingdom when it crashed into a building shortly after takeoff on June 12, killing all aboard, except for one survivor, and several people on the ground, according to authorities.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
