India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has released its preliminary findings following last month’s tragic plane crash involving Air India Flight AI171.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner went down shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, with London Gatwick the intended destination, claiming 260 lives and injuring another 130 people on the ground. Only one person on the airplane survived.
According to an initial report from the AAIB, the plane had reached a climb speed of 180 knots before both fuel switches were set to “CUTOFF,” which halted the flow of fuel and caused the engines to lose power.
Cockpit recordings revealed that one pilot asked the other why he cut off, to which he replied, “I didn’t.”
Backup systems were deployed seconds later, with the auxiliary power unit kicking in as it attempted to fire the engines again in midair. One of the engines recovered, but the other couldn’t regain enough speed.
One of the pilots was heard making a mayday call before the plane went down close to the airport.
Below is a detailed explanation, while the full preliminary report from the AAIB can be found here.
Report On Air India Crash Raises More Questions Than Answers
The report notes that the aircraft had been well maintained and had new engines installed the month prior. Investigators have recovered flight and voice recorders bearing data from six recent flights, including the fatal one on June 12.
Bad weather and sabotage have been ruled out; however, the cause of the engine cutoff remains a mystery.
Two engines shutting off on an airplane is very rare and not consistent with regular procedure. Experts have also relayed that the switches are not easily bumped or turned on by mistake—they are usually used during ground operations or in the case of an engine fire.
There are suspicions that the shutdown was possibly intentional, but investigators have not confirmed or even suggested this and are still trying to piece things together.
