Latest news with #fuelcutoff
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Air India captain ‘cut off' fuel to engines
The captain of the crashed Air India jet likely cut off the fuel supply before it crashed in Ahmedabad, US officials believe. The first officer, who was flying the Boeing 787-9, questioned why the captain had moved switches to the cut-off position, according to a US assessment of the black-box data. The first officer reportedly expressed surprise and panicked, while the captain remained calm, the Wall Street Journal reported. All but one of 242 people on board the Boeing 787 Dreamliner were killed when the aircraft plunged into a medical student hostel in a built-up suburb last month, less than a minute after take-off from Ahmedabad airport. It follows a preliminary report released by Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's (AAIB) that found that switches controlling fuel flow to the jet's two engines were turned off, leading to a catastrophic loss of thrust at take-off. According to the report, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why 'did you cut off' the fuel supply in the recovered cockpit voice recording. The other pilot responded that he 'didn't'. It was not previously clear who said what. However, sources in the US who have reviewed the cockpit voice recordings told the Wall Street Journal that it was the captain who was questioned about why he cut off fuel to engines. The switches were moved in succession, one second apart, according to the report. Some 10 seconds later, the switches were turned back on. The report did not say whether the switches may have been turned off accidentally or deliberately. Sumeet Sabharwal, the captain, and Clive Kundar, the co-pilot had more than 9,000 hours of flying time between them. On Sunday, The Telegraph revealed that Air India crash investigators are examining the medical records of Mr Sabharwal amid claims that he suffered from depression and mental health problems. Captain Sabharwal, 56, who had been considering leaving the airline to look after his elderly father following the death of his mother in 2022. In the moments before the disaster, Mr Sabharwal issued a mayday call. However, after the aircraft reached a maximum altitude of barely 400ft above the runway all contact was lost. The plane then fell towards the ground and exploded on impact. Campbell Wison, the Air India chief executive, said in a staff memo that the report had 'triggered a new round of speculation in the media'. Mr Wilson said the report identified no cause nor made any recommendations and urged people to avoid drawing premature conclusions as investigation was far from over. The crash was the first fatal accident involving Boeing's Dreamliner. However, the airline had already suffered reputational damage after a string of safety and quality problems. The Dreamliner, which entered service in 2011, is popular among commercial airlines and is commonly used on international long-haul routes. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Solve the daily Crossword
The Independent
12-07-2025
- General
- The Independent
Air India crash report: Simon Calder explains how flight was ‘doomed' without sufficient power
The Independent 's Simon Calder takes a closer look at the preliminary report into last month's Air India crash. The report by Indian aviation accident investigators has found fuel supply to the engines of the Air India plane was cut off just seconds after the flight took off. The London Gatwick -bound flight came down in a residential area of Ahmedabad on 12 June, killing a total of 260 people. The 15-page document published by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, which is part of the ongoing probe into what caused the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner to come down, found that fuel control switches were moved to 'cut-off' position as the aircraft rose from take-off.
Times
12-07-2025
- General
- Times
Air India report: fuel switches cut off before plane crash
The engines of the Air India jet that crashed killing 260 people last month were starved of fuel after one of the pilots cut off the supply, the official investigators have reported. Amid confusion on the flight deck, the pilots reopened the fuel to restart the engines but it was too late. Deprived of power, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner sank to the ground 30 seconds after taking off from Ahmedabad for London on June 12, the preliminary report by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said. The fuel switches, which toggle between 'run' and 'cutoff', are used for the engine start and stop in every flight. They are positioned on the console between the pilots and are impossible to manipulate accidentally because they are guarded and require deliberate actions to move. The aircraft took off normally but 'immediately thereafter, the engine one and engine two fuel cutoff switches transitioned from run to cutoff position one after another, with a time gap of 01 seconds,' the report said. The co-pilot, Clive Kunder, was flying the aircraft with Captain Sumeet Sabharwal monitoring. 'In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why he cut off. The other pilot responded that he did not do so,' the report said. AMIT DAVE/REUTERS The report did not identify which remarks were made by the captain and which by the first officer, nor which pilot transmitted, 'mayday, mayday, mayday, losing thrust' just before the crash. The preliminary report also does not say how the switch could have flipped to the cutoff position. The switches were moved back to the normal position, starting the relighting sequence, but one of the engines failed to restart, ensuring the aircraft's doom, the report showed. The fuel supply switches are only used in flight in an emergency to shut down an engine that is failing. 'These are sacred switches. We would never touch one of these in flight unless there was some very serious reason,' Ben Watts, a Boeing 737 pilot and instructor, said on a podcast after word of the engine shutdown leaked this week. The report in effect exonerated Boeing after fears there may have been a flaw in the 787, the flagship product of the troubled US planemaker. Air India flight 171 was the first loss of one of its Dreamliners, which have been in service since 2011. The investigation, which continues, has not yet found any significant faults with the aircraft. John Cox, a US aviation safety expert, said a pilot would not be able to accidentally move the fuel switches that feed the engines. 'You can't bump them and they move,' he said. The report states: 'At this stage of investigation, there are no recommended actions to B787-8 and/or GE GEnx-1B engine operators and manufacturers, suggesting that no significant fault has been found with the plane or its engines.' There were 242 people on board, including 53 British citizens, 169 Indian citizens, seven Portuguese, one Canadian and 12 crew on board. Only one passenger survived, the British citizen Vishwash Kumar Ramesh. A total of 260 died in the incident, according to industry reports.
CNA
12-07-2025
- General
- CNA
Seconds to disaster: How the Air India flight crashed and what are the fuel switches under scrutiny?
A preliminary report into the Air India crash that killed 260 people last month showed the plane's engine fuel cutoff switches almost simultaneously flipped from run to cutoff, starving the engines of fuel. Here is the sequence of events - by the seconds - on Jun 12, as detailed by Indian investigators in their preliminary report released on Saturday (Jul 12). All times in GMT. TIMELINE 5.47am GMT (11.17am IST): Air India Dreamliner VT-ANB landed in Ahmedabad from New Delhi as AI423. 7.48.38am: The aircraft was observed departing from Bay 34 at the airport. 7.55.15am: The aircraft requested taxi clearance, which was granted by air traffic control. A minute later the aircraft taxied from the bay to Runway 23 via Taxiway R4, backtracked and lined up for take-off. 8.02.03am: The aircraft was transferred from ground to tower control. 8.07.33am: Take-off clearance issued. 8.07.37am: The aircraft started rolling. 8.08.39am: Aircraft lifted off. "The aircraft air/ground sensors transitioned to air mode, consistent with liftoff," the report said. 8.08.42am: Aircraft reached max airspeed of 180 knots. "Immediately thereafter, the Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of 01 sec," the report said. "The Engine N1 and N2 began to decrease from their take-off values as the fuel supply to the engines was cut off. "In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so. "The CCTV footage obtained from the airport showed Ram Air Turbine (RAT) getting deployed during the initial climb immediately after lift-off "The aircraft started to lose altitude before crossing the airport perimeter wall." 8.08.47am: Both engines' values "passed below minimum idle speed", and the RAT hydraulic pump began supplying hydraulic power. 8.08.52am: Engine 1 fuel cutoff switch transitioned from CUTOFF to RUN. 8.08.56: Engine 2 fuel cutoff switch also transitions from CUTOFF to RUN. "When fuel control switches are moved from CUTOFF to RUN while the aircraft is inflight, each engines full authority dual engine control (FADEC) automatically manages a relight and thrust recovery sequence of ignition and fuel introduction," the report stated. "Engine 1's core deceleration stopped, reversed and started to progress to recovery. Engine 2 was able to relight but could not arrest core speed deceleration and reintroduced fuel repeatedly to increase core speed acceleration and recovery." 8.09.05am: One of the pilots transmitted 'MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY". 8.09.11am: Data recording stopped. 8.14.44am: Crash fire tender left the airport premises for rescue and firefighting. WHAT ARE FUEL SWITCHES? They are switches that regulate fuel flow into a plane's engines. They are used by pilots to start or shut down engines on the ground or to manually shut down or restart engines if an engine failure occurs during a flight. Aviation experts say a pilot would not be able to accidentally move the fuel switches that feed the engines. But if moved, the effect would be immediate, cutting off engine power. There are independent power systems and wiring for the fuel cutoff switches and the fuel valves controlled by those switches, according to US aviation safety expert John Cox. WHERE ARE THE FUEL SWITCHES LOCATED? The two fuel control switches on a 787, in Air India's case equipped with two GE engines, are located below the thrust levers. The switches are spring-loaded to remain in position. To change one from run to cutoff, a pilot has to first pull the switch up and then move it from run to cutoff or vice versa. There are two modes: "CUTOFF" and "RUN". At the crash site, both fuel switches were found in the run position, and there had been indications of both engines relighting before the low-altitude crash.
News.com.au
12-07-2025
- General
- News.com.au
‘Why did you cut off?': Air India flight had fuel supply ‘shut off' to both engines
The fuel supply to the engines of the fatal Air India flight was 'shut off' seconds after take off, a preliminary report has revealed — with a photo of the switches inside the plane's cockpit sparking a fierce debate. A 15-page report from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau was released on Saturday morning AEST, detailing how the fuel supply to both the aircraft's engine were suddenly switched into 'cut-off' mode. The London-bound aircraft crashed on June 12, killing 241 people on-board and 19 on the ground after it took off from Ahmedabad in India's west. The report details how cockpit audio from Air India Flight 171 captured one pilot asking, 'Why did you cut-off?' with the other responding, 'I didn't' before the plane went down. Whether the fuel supply was cut off deliberately or accidentally is still under investigation, the report states. 'Both engines were retrieved from the wreckage site and quarantined at a hangar in the airport,' the report said. 'Components of interest for further examinations have been identified and quarantined.' The report detailed how shortly after takeoff, Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches changed from 'run' to 'cutoff' one after another - with just a one-second time gap. After the pilots discussed the switch, both engines were put back into 'run' mode, however failed to reignite in time. The report states one of the pilots called out 'MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY' before the plane crashed. A picture from inside the cockpit shows the position of the fuel switches, sparking a debate online. Many are asking why the switches are not guarded. 'Honestly I've been flying for years in both Boeing and AirbusTill this day I don't understand why the fuel switches / engine master switches are not guarded,' one person said. 'Although you have to pull the switches in order to flip it, it's better to be guarded to avoid catastrophic mistakes." The flight crew consisted of a pilot-in-command, aged 56, with over 15,000 total flying hours and a co-pilot aged 32, with over 3,400 total flying hours. 'Both pilots were based at Mumbai and had arrived at Ahmedabad on the previous day,' the report said. 'They had adequate rest period prior to operating the said flight.' The report also showed CCTV images obtained from the airport which showed no problems with the plane's 'inital climb'. 'No significant bird activity is observed in the vicinity of the flight path,' the report stated. 'The aircraft started to lose altitude before crossing the airport perimeter wall.' Five buildings were also destroyed on the ground as a result of the crash. 'The aircraft was destroyed due to impact with the buildings on the ground and subsequent fire,' the report said.
