Air India Jet Crash: Preliminary Report Cites Fuel Supply Cut

Preliminary Findings on Air India Crash

• ✈️ A preliminary report from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau indicates that a cut in fuel supply to the engines caused the fatal Air India crash.
• ⚠️ The report states the fuel control switches were in a cut-off position, leading to the loss of engine thrust.
• 💔 The crash resulted in the deaths of 260 people, including 241 crew and passengers, and 19 others pronounced dead after DNA testing.

Cockpit Conversation and Switch Operation

• 💬 A cockpit voice recorder captured a conversation where one pilot asked the other about cutting the fuel switch, with the other denying it.
• ❓ The report does not conclude whether the switches were flipped by a person or by another means.
• ⚙️ The fuel cutoff switches are designed to be manually operated and require a deliberate action to move from 'run' to 'cut-off' and back.

Expert Analysis on Potential Causes

• 🔬 Aviation safety analyst David Soucie stated he has never encountered an incident where both engines were manually shut off during takeoff in his 45 years of experience.
• ⚠️ Soucie believes it's highly unlikely the switches were moved inadvertently due to their design, suggesting they were manually moved.
• 🤔 He proposes exploring possibilities such as pilot delirium due to extreme heat or medical conditions, rather than intentional action or electronic malfunction.
• ✈️ A past incident in 1987 involving a Boeing 767 where a pilot inadvertently turned off switches is mentioned, but Boeing has since redesigned cockpits to prevent such occurrences.