Engine fuel switches cut off before Air India crash that killed 260, preliminary report finds

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: The Guardian

This report found that switches in the cockpit that controlled fuel moved to a “cutoff” position.

It said: “The aircraft achieved the maximum recorded airspeed of 180 knots IAS [indicated airspeed] at about 08:08:42 UTC and immediately thereafter, the engine 1 and engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of 1 second.
...
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.
...
A US aviation safety expert, John Cox, said a pilot would not be able to accidentally move the fuel switches that feed the engines. “You can’t bump them and they move,” he said.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/11/engine-fuel-switches-cut-off-before-air-india-crash-that-killed-260-report-finds

[Renew Deal]

1. Pilot error?

I can’t imaging there is an automated way to do it.

[jmowreader]

9. Not error, sabotage

These aren't like light switches. To get one to move you have to pull it out to override the travel lock on it. They're also far enough away from any of the other switches on the flight deck that you can't say "well, maybe he was trying to turn off the fasten seat belts sign and shut off the engines' fuel pumps instead."

Now the investigation becomes "why would someone do this?"

[Renew Deal]

12. It's not yet proven

But seems like the most plausible.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. From NPR:

WORLD
Preliminary report says fuel switches were cut off before Air India Boeing 787 crash

JULY 11, 2025 5:29 PM ET
By Joel Rose, Russell Lewis

{snip}

[Prairie Gates]

3. DU pilots and aviation experts: does that match the videos of what you're seeing

I have so much respect for the knowledge of the pilot and aviation people on this board. I always learn something from them!

[C Moon]

4. My first thought was suicide. Horrible

[turbinetree]

5. When I use to do engine runs on lets say the B737NG we did this you had to physically open and close those valves

B737NG

B787-9

Here is another explainer of the B787 fuel system..............

https://denvergazette.com/news/nation-world/explainer-what-are-the-fuel-switches-at-the-centre-of-the-air-india-crash-probe/article_554cdfb5-4be5-549a-994c-f74171df97ab.html

[mn9driver]

7. I never flew this aircraft, but the shutoff switches look like Boeing.

These switches are used to both start and shut down their respective engine. In more modern models, cycling the switch is often the first step in attempting a restart of a failed engine.

This preliminary report offers almost nothing in terms of whatever happened. Did an engine failure result in a switch being cycled? If so, was it the correct switch? Or was it that the switch was what shut down the engine? Why was so little said in the flight deck while this was going on? We don’t know.

I believe the Indian government knows quite a bit more than is being said here. It will eventually come out.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

8. Supposedly one pilot asked the other if he cut the fuel and he responded no.

@4:50 in the video

?si=fxdXM2l_p_QpB4N0

[mn9driver]

10. Yes, that's an issue. Those switches are a verify item at just about every airline

The report raises more questions than it answers. That doesn’t normally happen, even on a preliminary report.

[Happy Hoosier]

16. The switches were not cycled in response to engine failure.

The compressor speeds did not fall until the switches were turned off… and they were not turned back on for 9 seconds.

[Skittles]

17. it's looking more like it was done deliberately

yup

[WarGamer]

11. murder-suicide IMHO

https://www.yahoo.com/news/engine-fuel-supply-cut-just-224500977.html

In the flight's final moment, one pilot was 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.

The commanding pilot of the Air India plane was Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, who had a total flying experience of 15,638 hours and, according to the Indian government, was also an Air India instructor. His co-pilot was Clive Kunder, 32, who had 3,403 hours of total experience.

The fuel switches had almost simultaneously flipped from run to cutoff just after takeoff. The preliminary report did not say how the switches could have flipped to the cutoff position during the flight.

In a Boeing 787, the fuel cutoff switches are designed to be difficult to move accidentally. They are spring-loaded and require a deliberate action: pulling the switch up before moving it between the "RUN" and "CUTOFF" positions.

[question everything]

13. Scary

[Hassin Bin Sober]

15. A distinct possibility.

Or mayyyyybeeee, one of the pilots had an absolute brain fart and went through a “memory item” for shut down instead of cleaning up the aircraft for climb.

Juan Browne in the video posted below mentions a suggested maintenance, to improve inadvertent activation safety, on those switches that wasn’t completed.

But yeah, I bet the authorities are looking hard at the mental/financial state of the two pilots.

[Aussie105]

14. Certainly those switches won't be subject to an 'oops!' accidental activation.

That leaves hardware error, software error, or a deliberate human 'error'.

I'm sure those who have access to an identical plane will be looking into that very closely.

The compensation implications for relatives of the people who died depends on the answer.