July 11 (UPI) — The fuel switches to both engines on the Air India Flight 171 moved to the “cutoff” position immediately before the crash that killed 260 after taking off on June 12.
The two switches that control the fuel supply to the two jet engines on the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner were switched to the off position as the aircraft took off, a preliminary report released by investigators on Friday, The Seattle Times reported.
The engines shut off within a second of one another, which caused the aircraft to crash just a mile away from the Ahmedabad, India, airport, India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said in the preliminary report.
The crash killed 241 passengers and crew, plus 19 others on the ground, but one person survived the disastrous crash.
“Air India stands in solidarity with the families and those affected by the AI 171 accident,” the company said in a statement. “We continue to mourn the loss and are fully committed to providing support during this difficult time.”
Airline officials are working with investigators and other authorities to determine the exact cause of the crash, according to the unattributed statement.
The investigation into its cause has focused on the two fuel-control switches that are located in the aircraft’s cockpit, which investigators said were changed from the “run” position to “cutoff,” according to CNN.
“In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other, ‘Why did he cut off’” the fuel supply to the engines, the report says. “The other pilot responded that he did not do so.”
The aircraft had attained a speed of 180 knots, or about 207 mph, when first one and then the other switches were changed to the cutoff position about a second apart, which caused the aircraft to lose its lift and crash, investigators said.
The switches were returned to the “run” position, but it was too late, and one of the pilots called out, “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday,” the report says.
The flight was bound for London’s Gatwick Airport but was airborne for only 32 seconds and crashed just a mile from the airport.
The flight’s captain was a 56-year-old male with more than 15,000 hours of flight experience, and the flight’s first officer was a 32-year-old male with more than 3,400 hours of flight experience.
The captain and first officer tested negative for intoxicating substances before the flight, the aircraft was in good condition and its weight was within acceptable limits, according to the preliminary report.
The flight took off at 1:30 p.m. local time and was scheduled to land in London about five hours later.
Crash victims include 169 from India, 53 from the United Kingdom, seven from Portugal and one from Canada.
The lone survivor is from the United Kingdom and escaped through an opening in the fuselage.
The aircraft was built at Boeing’s Everett, Wash., facility, recorded its first flight in 2013 and was delivered to Air India in 2014.
The 787 Dreamliner is Boeing’s smallest wide-body commercial aircraft and holds up to 242 passengers and crew.
The preliminary report was released 30 days after the crash in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s guidelines, which requires receipt of such reports within 30 days of a fatal crash.
Investigators from the United States and the United Kingdom are assisting the investigation.
