Fuel to Air India plane was cut off moments before crash, investigation
report says
[July 12, 2025]
By SHEIKH SAALIQ
NEW DELHI (AP) — Fuel control switches for the engines of an Air India
flight that crashed last month were moved from the “run” to the “cutoff”
position moments before impact, starving both engines of fuel, a
preliminary investigation report said early Saturday.
The report, issued by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau,
also indicated that both pilots were confused over the change to the
switch setting, which caused a loss of engine thrust shortly after
takeoff.
The Air India flight — a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner — crashed on June 12
and killed at least 260 people, including 19 on the ground, in the
northwestern city of Ahmedabad. Only one passenger survived the crash,
which is one of India’s worst aviation disasters.
The plane was carrying 230 passengers — 169 Indians, 53 British, seven
Portuguese and a Canadian — along with 12 crew members.
According to the report, the flight lasted around 30 seconds between
takeoff and crash. It said that once the aircraft achieved its top
recorded speed, “the Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches
transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another" within a
second. The report did not say how the switches could have flipped to
the cutoff position during the flight.
The movement of the fuel control switches allow and cut fuel flow to the
plane’s engines.
The switches were flipped back into the run position, the report said,
but the plane could not gain power quickly enough to stop its descent
after the aircraft had begun to lose altitude.
“One of the pilots transmitted “‘MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY’,” the report
said.
It also indicated confusion in the cockpit moments before the crash.
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Mother of Clive Kunder, co-pilot of the Air India flight that
crashed in Ahmedabad last month, mourns during a prayer meeting for
the Air India crew, at a church in Mumbai, India, Saturday, July 12,
2025. (AP Photo/ Rafiq Maqbool)
In the flight’s final moment, one pilot was heard on the cockpit
voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel. “The other
pilot responded that he did not do so,” the report said.
The preliminary report did not recommend any actions for Boeing,
which said in a statement that it “stands ready to support the
investigation led by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation
Bureau.”
“Our deepest condolences go out to the loved ones of the passengers
and crew on board Air India Flight 171, as well as everyone affected
in Ahmedabad,” the statement added.
Air India in a statement said it is fully cooperating with
authorities investigating the crash.
“Air India is working closely with stakeholders, including
regulators. We continue to fully cooperate with the AAIB and other
authorities as their investigation progresses,” it said.
The plane’s black boxes — combined cockpit voice recorders and
flight data recorders — were recovered in the days following the
crash and later downloaded in India.
Indian authorities had also ordered deeper checks of Air India’s
entire fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliner to prevent future incidents.
Air India has 33 Dreamliners in its fleet.
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