Air India Crash: Don’t Jump To Conclusions, Says Aviation Minister As Report Reveals Final Moments

Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Saturday urged against jumping to conclusions after a preliminary investigation report into last month’s deadly Air India crash revealed the pilots’ confusion in the cockpit as the jet’s fuel supply was mysteriously cut off just seconds after takeoff.

The report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) provides the first official insight into the final moments of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner before it crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12, killing 260 people, including 241 passengers and crew and 19 on the ground.

“Till the final report doesn’t come out, we should not reach any conclusion,” Naidu said on Saturday, describing the AAIB’s findings as “preliminary.” He commended the agency for its “mature and transparent” work in preparing the report.

The investigation’s most startling finding, retrieved from the plane’s black box, is that the fuel cutoff switches for both engines moved from the ‘RUN’ to ‘CUTOFF’ position within one second of each other, just 3 seconds after the aircraft lifted off from the runway. This starved the engines of fuel, causing them to shut down.

The cockpit voice recorder captured a critical exchange between the two pilots amidst the unfolding emergency. One pilot is heard asking, “Why did you cut off?” The other immediately responded, “I didn’t,” indicating profound confusion over what led to the catastrophic loss of power.

The AAIB report also noted that a 2018 advisory from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had alerted airlines to a potential design flaw in the fuel control switch locking feature on some Boeing jets. However, the report added that since the advisory was not mandatory, the inspection was not carried out by Air India on the ill-fated aircraft.

Despite the engine failure, the pilots attempted a recovery, moving the switches back to ‘RUN’ and issuing a “MAYDAY” call. However, with the aircraft at a very low altitude, there was not enough time for the engines to restart before it crashed into a medical hostel complex near the airport, just 32 seconds after becoming airborne.