Reuters: A preliminary investigation report into the Air India crash on June 12 has revealed what happened on the Boeing Dreamliner during its final moments — a 32-second journey from lift-off to its crash into hospital buildings near the airport.
The crash near Ahmedabad airport killed 241 people on board and 19 on ground. Just one passenger survived.
The report focused on the moments after the takeoff, showing the aircraft’s two fuel control switches moved to the ‘cutoff’ position in quick succession. This action cut off fuel supply to the engines, immediately causing the aircraft to lose all thrust.
The switches are on the centre console of the cockpit, just below the engine thrust levers. They are used to control fuel flow to the engines—primarily during engine start-up and shutdown on the ground, or to shut down an engine in the event of an engine failure during flight.
The fuel control switches are equipped with a spring-loaded locking mechanism that keeps them in position and prevents unintended movement. You would have to pull the switch up before moving it from run to cutoff, or vice versa.
Aviation experts say a pilot would not have been able to move the fuel switches accidentally. Once moved, the effect would be immediate, cutting off engine power.
The preliminary report highlighted key events before and after the aircraft took off. All systems were reported to be functioning normally up until the moment the aircraft became airborne.
