A preliminary report released on Friday (11) indicates that the fuel supply cut was the determining factor for the airplane of Air India, which killed 260 people last month, shortly after taking off from the city of Ahmedabad, in western India. The aircraft, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, was going to London with 242 people on board. Only one passenger survived.
According to the document, the two fuel supply buttons, one for each engine, were driven manually and changed from the “run” position to “cut” three seconds after takeoff, which caused the engines to lose almost simultaneous power. The deactivation procedure requires two consecutive actions and cannot be accidentally done, according to experts.
The cabin’s voice recording revealed a dialogue between the pilots at the time the cut occurred. One asks why the fuel had been cut while the other denies having done any action. The investigation has not yet been able to determine which one made the change in controls and for what reason. The aircraft fuel was tested and was on the standards, removing suspicions of contamination or quality failure.
The attempt to reconnect the engines occurred about ten seconds before the impact, while the aircraft at low altitude. Even with the emergency turbine and the Mayday statement by one of the pilots, the plane crashed before the engines resumed power. The impact destroyed part of a university accommodation near the airport, also killing people on the ground.
There is no deadline for completion of the final report yet. Air India has 33 other Dreamliner models on its fleet, which are now undergoing technical inspections. The company has not officially commented on the investigation findings so far.
