'I Didn't Cut Off Fuel?': AAIB Report On Air India Plane Crash Reveals Last Conversation Between Pilots - Shocking Revelations

New Delhi: A preliminary report on the Ahmedabad Air India crash that killed over 270 people revealed shocking details. The report showed that both switches feeding fuel to the two engines of Air India flight 171 were cut off, seconds after taking off. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released the initial investigation report on Saturday.

"The aircraft achieved the maximum recorded airspeed of 180 Knots IAS at about 08:08:42 UTC, and 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 report pointed out that 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," it said.

Notably, at the time the aircraft took off, the co-pilot was flying the plane, while the captain was monitoring, reported PTI. The preliminary report recommended no action for now for the operators of Boeing 787-8 planes.

Later, switches of both engines were transitioned from CUTOFF to RUN as both pilots tried to control the situation, the data from Enhanced Airborne Flight Recorders (EAFR) revealed.

"When fuel control switches are moved from CUTOFF to RUN while the aircraft is in flight, each engine's full authority dual engine control (FADEC) automatically manages a relight and thrust recovery sequence of ignition and fuel introduction," the report revealed.

Experts are of the opinion that this CUTOFF transition could be the reason behind the plane crash. Notably, the report pointed out that dual-engine shutdown within seconds of takeoff was the cause of the crash.

The aircraft took off at 1:38 pm on June 12 and at 1:39 pm of the pilots transmitted 'MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY'.

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"The ATCO (Air Traffic Controller) enquired about the call sign. ATCO did not get any response but observed the aircraft crashing outside the airport boundary and activated the emergency response," the report said.

In the report of the fatal plane accident that happened in around 30 seconds after take off, AAIB also said fuel samples taken from bowsers and tanks used to refuel the aircraft were tested at the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) Lab and were found satisfactory.

The plane that crashed was powered by GEnx-1B engines.

The London-bound Air India flight, AI 171, crashed on June 12 just seconds after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport in Ahmedabad. At the time of the incident, there were 242 people onboard the plane, including 12 crew members. Only one passenger survived the crash.

The flight was under the command of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, an experienced Line Training Captain with 8,200 flight hours, and First Officer Clive Kunder, who had logged 1,100 flight hours.

The plane crashed into the hostel of BJ Medical College campus and burst into a ball of fire as it was carrying a lot of fuel for the long-haul flight. The death toll in the crash rose to over 275, including the people on the ground.

The black box of the plane was recovered on June 13.