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   Fuel to Air India Plane Was Cut Off Before Deadly Crash, Report Says   
       
   A focus on the Boeing 787's fuel switches in a preliminary assessment raised   
   questions about the pilots’ actions, but much is still unknown about Flight   
   171.   
       
   Seconds after takeoff and moments before an Air India flight crashed last   
   month, the fuel was cut off to both engines of the plane, investigators said   
   early on Saturday, in a preliminary assessment of information from the Boeing   
   787’s voice and data recorders.   
       
   The narrowed focus on the fuel switches on Air India Flight 171 raised   
   questions about the pilots' actions and appeared to rule out mechanical   
   failure or design flaws. The report said there are no recommended actions to   
   the aircraft and engine manufacturers, Boeing and General Electric.   
       
   In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other   
   why did he cut off the fuel, said the report, by India's Aircraft Accident   
   Investigation Bureau. The other pilot responded that he did not do so.   
       
   The London-bound plane went down on June 12, about 30 seconds after takeoff   
   from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in the western Indian city   
   of Ahmedabad. All but one of the 242 people aboard were killed.   
       
   The plane rammed into the dining hall of a medical college before exploding in   
   flames. Altogether, more than 270 people were killed, including dozens on the   
   ground, officials said. It was India's worst aviation disaster since 1996.   
       
   The supply of fuel to the engine is controlled by two switches in the flight   
   deck. Starting about 10 seconds after the fuel was cut off on Flight 171, the   
   data recorder shows, the switches were moved to turn the fuel back on. But the   
   plane could not gain power quickly enough to stop its descent.   
       
   Each switch is equipped with a locking mechanism that is supposed to prevent   
   accidental movement, experts said. To turn the fuel supply on, the switch must   
   be pulled outward and then moved to a “RUN” position, where it is released and   
   settles back into a locked position. To turn the fuel supply off, the switch   
   must be pulled outward again, moved to the “CUTOFF” position and then released   
   again.   
       
   According to the report, the fuel control switches were turned off one after   
   another about a second apart, and the aircraft started to lose altitude before   
   crossing the airport perimeter wall.   
       
   Safety experts said it appeared unlikely that the switches were moved without   
   human involvement, whether intentional or accidental.   
       
   The fuel switches have safeguards built around them to avoid any accidental   
   switching off, said Shawn Pruchnicki, a former airline accident investigator   
   and aviation expert at Ohio State University.   
       
   For example, on the 787 and probably more airliners these days, the switches   
   themselves "you can't shut them off without actually lifting them up", he   
   said. "So there's a little mechanical gate built into the switch you have to   
   lift it up over this little gate. So you can’t just bump it."   
       
   The flight's captain was Sumeet Sabharwal, who had over 15,000 hours of flying   
   experience, while First Officer Clive Kunder brought 3,400 hours of flying   
   experience, Air India said. That is more experience than officials attributed   
   to the pilots last month, when they estimated a combined experience of about   
   10,000 hours.   
       
   India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, the U.S. National   
   Transportation Safety Board and Boeing have been trying to determine what   
   caused Flight 171 to crash. The cockpit voice recorder and the flight data   
   recorder, usually referred to as the black boxes, were recovered from the   
   debris.   
       
   Although there was initial concern that the devices might have been damaged in   
   the extreme heat of the fire, investigating teams managed to retrieve data   
   from the boxes.   
       
   Video filmed by residents in nearby homes, as well as CCTV footage, show the   
   plane struggling to gain lift immediately after taking off. A New York Times   
   analysis of photos and videos suggested that the plane might have experienced   
   a catastrophic loss of hydraulic, electrical or engine power. It could take   
   months, possibly years, to reach definitive conclusions. But as a member of   
   the International Civil Aviation Organization, India was obliged to submit a   
   preliminary investigative report within 30 days of the crash.   
       
   The preliminary report was inconclusive, and said the investigators will   
   continue to “review and examine” further evidence.   
       
   It appeared to rule out one theory floated by experts, of fuel contamination.   
   The report said a very limited amount of fuel could be retrieved from the   
   aircraft, which exploded into flames, and tests on those samples would   
   continue. But lab tests on samples taken from the bowsers and tanks used to   
   refuel the aircraft” had found the fuel satisfactory.   
       
   The report not recommending any action to the aircraft and engine   
   manufacturers, three weeks after data was decoded, was seen by experts as an   
   indication of no obvious sign of mechanical failure or design flaws. That   
   would have prompted urgent communication to manufacturers to check other   
   aircraft.   
       
   The report, however, noted that the Federal Aviation Administration had issued   
   a bulletin in 2018 recommending that airlines inspect the switches on the 787   
   and other jets amid reports that some may have been installed with the locking   
   mechanism disengaged.   
       
   But the F.A.A. did not rule that to be an unsafe condition at the time, the   
   report said. The switches on the Air India plane were replaced by 2023, with   
   no defects reported since. And, by that time, the manufacturer would have   
   almost certainly inspected the part to ensure the locking mechanism was   
   engaged, said John Cox, a former airline pilot and chief executive of Safety   
   Operating Systems, a consulting firm.   
       
   In a statement, Air India said it had received the preliminary report but   
   could not comment on specific details mentioned given the active nature of the   
   investigation.   
       
   The crash brought scrutiny not only to Boeing, but also to Air India, the   
   country's oldest carrier, which was acquired by Tata Group after half a   
   century as a state-owned enterprise. The crash occurred just as Air India was   
   trying to pitch itself as a modernizing carrier.   
       
   The airline's last major crash was in 2020, when a passenger plane operated by   
   Air India Express, a subsidiary, skidded and cracked in two on a rain-soaked   
   runway, killing at least 17 people in the southern Indian state of Kerala. In   
   2010, an Air India Express plane overshot a hilltop runway in Mangalore, in   
   the western state of Karnataka, killing more than 150 people.   
      
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