Investigations are being carried out regarding the Air India plane headed to London Gatwick that crashed on June 12, immediately after its takeoff from Ahmedabad Airport in India, killing all but one of the 242 people on board and 33 on the ground. Now a preliminary report from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, obtained by CNN, indicates that a cut in the fuel supply to the engines caused the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to lose power and crash.
According to the report, both engines’ fuel control switches were flipped from the “RUN” to “CUTOFF” position just seconds apart, effectively starving the engines of fuel as the aircraft reached 180 knots. Data recovered from the black box recorders revealed that one pilot questioned the other about the unexpected cutoff, to which the second responded he had not done it.
The crew reversed the switches and attempted to restart the engines, but the aircraft had already begun to lose altitude.
The final moments captured in the cockpit voice recorder include one of the pilots issuing a “MAYDAY” call as the engines were attempting to reignite. However, air traffic control received no further response and witnessed the plane crash in the distance.
The report has not yet determined whether the fuel switches were flipped intentionally or due to a mechanical failure.
Indeed, despite airplanes being one of the safest modes of transportation, the Air India crash is a stark reminder that zero risk is impossible. Even with ever-improving technology, we continue to face grim reminders from the long catalog of air disasters recorded in the annals of commercial aviation. Sadly, few survive a plane crash, such is the destructive force of an event of this nature. And there have been some truly horrific air accidents across the world.
Click through to read up on some of the deadliest passenger plane crashes in history.