Ahmedabad Air India flight crash: Fuel control switches ‘transitioned’ to cutoff position after take off, says interim probe

On cockpit voice recording, one pilot asks another why he switched off the fuel supply to the engine, and the second replies that he did not do so; AI did not carry out inspections suggested in FAA advisory on disengagement of fuel switch lock

The fuel control switches of the Air India flight that crashed in Ahmedabad last month shifted or “transitioned” to the CUTOFF position three seconds after the aircraft became airborne, according to the preliminary investigation report on the accident. Later, there was a loss of engine thrust and both engines shut down, precipitating the crash of the Boeing 787-8 aircraft which killed at least 260 people, including 19 on the ground, the report said.

Read the preliminary report here

The fuel cut off switches of both the engines “transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of 01 sec,” according to the report submitted by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau late on Friday night. This switch movement occurred at 1:38:42 p.m., exactly three seconds after the plane achieved lift off.

Pilot discussion

The report does not mention whether the movement of switches was inadvertent or deliberate. However, it notes that, at the time the switches “transitioned” from RUN to CUTOFF position, the cockpit voice recording showed that ”one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so.”

The report does not mention whether the First Officer or the Pilot in Command posed the question, nor does it include the full transcript of the conversation between the pilots captured in the cockpit voice recording.

“Until the investigation explains how a supposedly locked fuel switch could have moved to CUTOFF and provides a detailed sequence of failure messages and aircraft response, the full truth remains elusive,” says Amit Singh, an aviation safety expert and founder of the Safety Matters NGO.

Thirty seconds later, one of the pilots transmitted “MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY” — the distress signal used to indicate a life-threatening emergency. The air traffic control officer enquired about the call sign to identify the flight, but did not get any response. Seconds later, however, he observed the aircraft crashing outside the airport boundary at 13:39 p.m.

U.S. advisory

U.S. aviation regulator Federal Aviation Administration had issued an advisory on December 17, 2018, regarding the potential disengagement of the fuel control switch locking feature for the Boeing 787-8. However, the report says that Air India did not carry out the suggested inspections as the FAA bulletin was only an advisory and did not mandate action.

Having scrutinised the maintenance records, the AAIB found that no defects in the fuel control switch of this aircraft had been reported after 2023, when the throttle control module of the cockpit control panel was last replaced on this aircraft.

Fuel supply returned too late

Subsequently, after a gap of 10 to 12 seconds, the switches moved back to their original RUN position at 1:38:52 and 1:38:54 seconds. After the fuel supply was switched back on, one of the engines progressed to recovery and stopped decelerating, but deceleration on the second engine was not arrested. The black box stopped recording data 17 seconds later at 1:39:11 p.m.

As per the report, the pilot-in-command Captain Sumeet Sabharwal was monitoring the flight, while First Officer Clive Kundar was the one flying the aircraft. The former had 8,200 hours of flying experience, while the latter had 1,100 hours under his belt.

The report says that as per the CCTV footage obtained from the airport, the aircraft’s Ram Air Turbine (RAT) was deployed during the initial climb immediately after lift-off. The RAT, a backup power source, automatically deployed as both engines lost power, consistent with aircraft design behaviour in dual engine failures.

The aircraft started to lose altitude even before crossing the airport perimeter wall, the report said. It added that there was no significant bird activity in the vicinity of the flight path.

No immediate action recommendations

On the basis of its findings, the AAIB report does not recommend any actions for either the Boeing 787-8 aircraft or the GE GEnx-1B engine installed on the aircraft involved in the crash.

“Investigation is continuing and the investigation team will review and examine additional evidence, records and information that is being sought from the stakeholders,” the report said.

A preliminary report does not typically reveal the cause of an accident, but instead provides the details of the flight involved in the accident. International norms require that such a report is submitted within 30 days of a crash.

In a statement, Air India said, “We acknowledge receipt of the preliminary report released by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) today, 12 July 2025. Air India is working closely with stakeholders, including regulators. We continue to fully cooperate with the AAIB and other authorities as their investigation progresses.”

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing said it continues to support the investigation and its customer, Air India.

Final moments of AI 171

1:37:37 p.m.: The Boeing 787 aircraft starts rolling for take off
(62 secs later) 1:38:39 p.m.: Aircraft achieves lift off or becomes airborne
(3 secs later) 1:38:42 p.m.: Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position cutting off fuel supply to the engines
At this moment, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff fuel supply. The other pilot responded that he did not do so.
1:38:47 p.m.: Backup power system or Ram Air Turbine is deployed
1:39:05 p.m.: Mayday Mayday Mayda call from cockpit. No response after ATC asks to identify aircraft, notices aircraft crashing
1:39:11 p.m.: Black box stops recording
1:44: 44 p.m.: Crash fire tender leaves airport premises for rescue operations and firefighting