Fuel to Air India plane was cut off moments before crash, investigation report says
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.
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 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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
'Miracle' British sole survivor of Air India crash is haunted by nightmares of the tragedy which killed 242 others and keeps 'seeing everyone die' in his dreams, family says
The British sole survivor of the horrific Air India crash is haunted by nightmares where he sees 'everyone die', his family have said. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, who was sitting in seat 11A, walked away with only cuts to his face and some chest injuries. He has been honoured as the 'miracle man', 'God's child', and a 'symbol of hope' by Indian media, and locals call him 'the man who cannot be killed'. But he is wracked with guilt as he faces the reality of being the only person out of 242 passengers and crew to survive the crash as the jetliner slammed into the ground and burst into flames. He struggles to sleep at night, according to a member of his extended family, Krunal Keshave, 24, from Leicester. 'He sleeps but doesn't sleep properly. When he sleeps, he dreams he is on the flight. He remembers seeing everyone die in front of his eyes.' The miracle survivor previously said he feels 'terrible' he could not save his brother Ajay, 35, and feels tormented with guilt over his death. The pair ran a fishing business in Diu, India and would live there during the fishing season - which begins in September and ends in May - then would return to Leicester for the off-season. 'He sees him speaks but he doesn't speak about the crash. He is currently trying to have a normal life, but he is not going out too much. He is spending time at home with the family. He was living in the house in Diu with his brother before the crash,' Krunal told The Sunday Times. Another relative said: 'He feels guilty that he is the only one to have lived when everybody else, including his brother, died. It's a lot to live with.' The 40-year-old told The Sun: 'It's a miracle I survived. I am OK physically but I feel terrible that I could not save Ajay.' Vishwash had tried to book two seats next to each other on flight AI171, which crashed into a densely populated part of the city of Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff. But by the time he came to make the reservation, he was forced to pick two seats apart from each other in row 11. Vishwash said: 'If we had been sat together we both might have survived. 'I tried to get two seats together but someone had already got one. Me and Ajay would have been sitting together. 'But I lost my brother in front of my eyes. So now I am constantly thinking 'Why can't I save my brother?' Vishwash carried his brother's coffin at a ceremony in Gujarat last month. He was later seen crying in anguish and had to be taken away. He was sitting next to one of the plane's emergency exits, was able to crawl through a hole in the twisted fuselage of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Footage exclusively obtained by MailOnline showed Vishwash tried going back to the site of the inferno to save his brother. Vishwash told the first emergency service worker on site: 'My family member is in there, my brother and he's burning to death. I have to save him.' Emergency worker Satinder Singh Sandhu said: 'I walked nearer to Mr Ramesh, grabbed him by the arm and led him away to a waiting ambulance. 'I had no idea that he was a passenger on the plane and thought he was a resident of the hostel or a passer-by. 'He was very disoriented and shocked and was limping. There was also blood on his face, but he was able to speak. 'He told the paramedics that he was flying to London when the plane fell and that he wanted to go back to save his family.' Shortly after the tragic crash he told Indian media: 'I thought I would die. Everything happened in front of my eyes,' 'I don't know how I came out of it alive. I saw people dying in front of my eyes.' The crash was one of the deadliest plane accidents in terms of the number of British nationals killed. The aircraft struck a medical college hostel in a residential part of Ahmedabad, killing 241 of the 242 people on board, 52 of whom were British. Investigations into the Air India plane crash are looking into the captain Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, who remained calm as the first officer Clive Kunder, 32, panicked about the fuel supply to the engines being cut off. A black-box recording of their conversation suggests that it was Sabharwal who turned off the switches, according to sources close to the US side of the probe. The Wall Street Journal reports that US pilots who have reviewed the Indian investigation believe first officer Clive Kunder, who was flying the aircraft, would probably have had his hands full trying to keep the Boeing Dreamliner steady. That responsibility would have left the captain, who was acting as the monitoring pilot, free to oversee the operation and possibly make adjustments. According to the official report, two crucial switches were flipped off one after the other, exactly a second apart. Ten seconds later, both switches were turned back on. In a preliminary summary of the exchange between pilots one asked the other why he moved the switches, while the other denied doing so. Air India said it 'stands in solidarity with the families and those affected by the AI 171 accident'. A spokesman said: 'We continue to fully co-operate with the AAIB and other authorities as their investigation progresses.'
Times
6 hours ago
- Times
Air India crash survivor still dreams of his ordeal in seat 11A
When one passenger emerged from the flames of the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad last month, it was hailed as a miracle. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who was sitting in seat 11A, suffered only cuts to his face and some chest injuries, but his biggest battle has been accepting that he is the only person out of 242 passengers and crew to survive, his family said last week. 'He can't sleep at night,' said Krunal Keshave, 24, from Leicester, a member of the extended family who describes Kumar Ramesh as his 'uncle'. 'He sleeps but doesn't sleep properly. When he sleeps, he dreams he is on the flight. He remembers seeing everyone die in front of his eyes.' He said Kumar Ramesh has chosen to remain in India to recuperate in Bucharwada village in Diu, on the coast of the western state of Gujarat, rather than returning to his home in London or to his family's home in Leicester. He has been called the 'miracle man', 'God's child', and a 'symbol of hope' by Indian media, and locals treat him as an object of awe and wonder, describing him in hushed tones as 'the man who cannot be killed'. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner came down less than a minute after take-off, crashing into a hostel building used to accommodate doctors, which killed another 19 people. Kumar Ramesh is dealing not just with the unimaginable events of flight AI 171 on June 12, but also the loss his younger brother, Ajay, 35, who was on the plane, which was heading to Gatwick. 'He sees him [Ajay] everywhere,' said Keshave, who had just returned from Diu. 'He speaks but he doesn't speak about the crash. His wife and his son [who is four] are there with him, supporting him. He is currently trying to have a normal life, but he is not going out too much. He is spending time at home with the family. He was living in the house in Diu with his brother before the crash.' • Air India plane crash survivor: When I opened my eyes I realised I was alive Another relative said: 'He feels guilty that he is the only one to have lived when everybody else, including his brother, died. It's a lot to live with.' Described as stoic, reserved and reliable by those who know him, Kumar Ramesh had been in India visiting relatives in Diu, whilst also taking care of a fishing business he ran with Ajay. Their boats would catch pomfret, mackerel and sardines to sell to local seafood suppliers. For the past three years the brothers would live in India during the fishing season, which begins in September and ends in May, just before the start of the monsoon season. They were returning to the UK last month during the off-season, and had booked a ticket a week before the flight. A 15-page preliminary investigation by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), published earlier this month, revealed confusion in the cockpit between the two pilots, with one asking the other why he had moved the fuel switches, and the other denying having done so. US authorities believe the captain, Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, was responsible for cutting the fuel to the plane's engines shortly after take-off, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Clive Kunder, 32, the co-pilot, was flying the plane, while Sabharwal was monitoring each step. More than 20 bereaved families, whose loved ones were passengers, are now taking legal action against Air India in the High Court to force the release of the pilots' personnel files and other evidence. • Who were the Air India pilots who flew the jet that crashed? A pre-action letter of claim sent by the legal firm, Keystone Law, which specialises in international aviation law, requests 'a copy of all the pilots' occupational records including any health assessment' and 'a copy of your training materials and any disclosure relevant to your assessment of the pilots' competence, health and training'. The letter also asks for 'a copy of all disclosure relating to the throttle control module replacement'. The throttle control module on the aircraft, which contained the fuel switches, was replaced in 2019 and 2023. The switches come with safety mechanisms preventing them being flicked off accidentally. James Healy-Pratt, an aviation law expert and a partner at Keystone Law, said: 'There are two areas of focus: the fuel control switches and their history, and the 26 seconds in the cockpit between lift-off and [the] pilots' mayday, and the potential for the fuel switches having been moved by one of the crew members.' He said the families were also planning to lodge a legal action against Boeing in the US federal courts in Virginia, where Boeing is based, in order to find out more about the fuel switch mechanism. Indian investigators will deliver a more extensive AAIB report on the crash in the next year. Air India said it 'stands in solidarity with the families and those affected by the AI 171 accident'. A spokesman said: 'We continue to fully co-operate with the AAIB and other authorities as their investigation progresses.' Since giving some interviews to Indian media immediately after the crash, Kumar Ramesh has been silent while he recovers. 'I thought I would die. Everything happened in front of my eyes,' he said at the time. 'There was a wall on the opposite side, but near me [the emergency exit]. It was open. I ran. I don't know how. I don't know how I came out of it alive. I saw people dying in front of my eyes.'
Daily Mail
14 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Report: Air India pilot's final words as he left home before plane crash
The captain of an Air India plane that crashed last month killing 260 people had promised he would return home hours before jetting off on the doomed flight. Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, was the senior pilot onboard the Boeing 787 Dreamliner that plummeted into a residential area in Ahmedabad on June 12, killing 241 people on board and 19 people on the ground. The veteran aviator, who had more than 8,200 hours in the cockpit, is being looked into by investigators over suggestions he turned off the plane's fuel switches, causing it to lose power. The plane had set off to London at 1:38pm and remained airborne for about 30 seconds before losing power and falling to the ground. Upon impact, it was engulfed by a huge fireball, claiming the lives of all but one person on board. A preliminary report into the tragedy revealed that before the crash, two fuel switches – which are used to start or shut down the engines and are typically left on during flight – were moved from 'Run' to 'Cutoff', depriving the engines of fuel. The report also revealed there had been confusion in the cabin when Sabharwal and his co-pilot Clive Kunder, 28, realised the fault, before desperate attempts were made to flick them back. Sources close to the investigation believe recordings of the conversation from the Boeing's black box support the view that the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane's engines. But Sabharwal's final words to a security guard at his apartment complex, where his elderly father also lived, would suggest otherwise. 'Please, take care of papa. I will be back soon,' he reportedly said just hours before the crash. Friends and colleagues also reject the idea Sabharwal was responsible, claiming he was a 'gentle soul' and an 'ace pilot' who had never been involved in any major incident prior to the crash. Neil Pais, 61, a former colleague of Sabharwal, told The Telegraph he was 'one of the nicest people you could ever hope to fly with'. 'He had absolutely no airs about himself, so humble, so respectful. Always a smile when he spoke to you,' he added. 'I never once saw him raise his voice or lose his temper. And yet he never compromised on work or safety. If there was an issue, he'd point it out, but always in the nicest possible way.' Another colleague and close friend, Captain Kapil Kohal, said Sabharwal was a 'hero' with a 'gentle soul'. Despite his nickname of 'Sad Sack', given because of his 'melancholic eyes', Sabharwal was 'deeply charismatic and always ready to help,' he added. But the sadness noticed by his peers was resultant of a deeper tragedy. Sabharwal had struggled to come to terms with the death of his mother in 2022 and in the wake of her passing had separated from his wife and moved from Delhi to Mumbai, to be closer to his elderly father, Pushkaraj. Investigations into the tragic crash have reportedly begun to analyse Sabharwal's behaviour after 'several' Air India pilots allegedly confirmed he suffered from poor mental health. He is understood to have taken bereavement leave after his mother's death. Although it is believed that he had been 'medically cleared' by Air India prior to the fatal crash. Friends also revealed Sabharwal had considered retiring as a pilot to help care for his 90-year-old father full time. According to Sunil Lokhande, the security guard at his apartment complex in Mumbai, Sabharwal would often visit his father 'for two or three days' and take him for evening walks. The pilot would also buy vegetables and fruits, which he would share with Lokhande and would also give him money to buy meals. Such details bring further questions as to why the pilot might have decided to cut off the fuel switches only seconds after takeoff, a move described by aviation experts as 'absolutely bizarre'. While there was no cockpit video recording definitively showing which pilot flipped the switches, early assessments by U.S. officials claim the weight of evidence from the conversation points to the captain being responsible. Citing U.S. pilots familiar with the AAIB report, the Wall Street Journal reported this week that 'as the pilot actively flying, [First Officer] Kunder likely would have had his hands full pulling back on the Dreamliner's controls at that stage of the flight'. On Sunday, a preliminary report released by the Indian authorities led to questions about why the pilot would have manually turned the switches off – and whether it was a deliberate act or a catastrophic mistake. The report said: 'In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other: why did he cut off? The other pilot responded that he did not do so.' Pilots will turn the fuel switches on and off at the correct times in every flight, but this time the fuel was cut off straight after takeoff and the landing gear was not raised. The co-pilot was flying the aircraft at the time of takeoff while the captain was monitoring. The report added that the switches were flipped back to 'Run' seconds afterwards, which started the process of relighting the engines. One of the engines had relit but had not gained power while the other was in the process of regaining power. At the crash site, both switches were found in the 'Run' position. Before the flight, both pilots had an adequate rest period and were found 'fit to operate' following a breath analyser test. There were no dangerous goods on the plane and the weight was 'within allowable limits'. Fuel samples taken from the tanks were tested and found to be 'satisfactory' and there was 'no significant bird activity' observed in and around the flight path of the aircraft. But Mr. Ranganathan previously suggested it may have been deliberate. Each lever has to be pulled upwards to be unlocked before it can be flipped and they also have further protective guard brackets to safeguard against any bumps and nudges. Explaining that he believed it 'had to be done manually', Mr. Ranganathan told NDTV of the fuel levers: 'The fuel selectors they aren't the sliding type they are always in a slot. They are to pull them out or move them up or down, so the question of them moving inadvertently out of off position doesn't happen. It's a case of deliberate manual selection.'
