Preliminary reports into horror Air India flight finds plane's engines were starved of fuel just three seconds after take off leading to bloodbath
The Boeing (BA.N) 787 Dreamliner immediately began to lose thrust and sink down, according to the report released on Saturday by Indian aviation accident investigators.
One pilot can be heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel.
"The other pilot responded that he did not do so," the report said.
It did not identify which remarks were made by the flight's captain and which by the first officer, nor which pilot transmitted "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday" just before the crash.
At the crash site, both fuel switches were found in the run position and the report said there had been indications of both engines relighting before the low-altitude crash.
Both pilots were experienced jet pilots with about 19,000 total flying hours between them, including more than 9,000 on the 787.
The preliminary report also does not say how the switch could have flipped to the cutoff position on the June 12 London-bound flight from the Indian city of Ahmedabad.
U.S. aviation safety expert Anthony Brickhouse said a key question is why were the switches moved in a way that is inconsistent with normal operations.
"Did they move on their own or did they move because of the pilots?" he asked.
"And if they were moved because of a pilot, why?"
"At this stage of investigation, there are no recommended actions to Boeing 787-8 and/or GE (GE.N) GEnx-1B engine operators and manufacturers" India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said.
Air India, Boeing and GE Aerospace did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
Last month, Air India was warned for breaching safety rules by the country's aviation regulator before it made global headlines for the mass casualty disaster, that killed everyone onboard except one man.
Flight AI171 crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad en route to London's Gatwick Airport.
According to government documents, planes flew despite being overdue checks on emergency equipment and for being slow to address the issue.
-Reuters
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