Report on the Crash of Indian Airlines Plane Shows Confusion in the Cockpit

SadaNews - An initial investigation reported on Saturday that the fuel control switches for the engines of the Indian Airlines plane that crashed shifted from the "on" position to "off" moments before the aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff, resulting in the deaths of 260 people onboard.

The report issued by the "Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau" of India did not draw any conclusions or identify those responsible for the disaster on June 12, but it noted a conversation where one pilot asked his colleague why he had cut the fuel, to which the second pilot replied that he had not.

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was en route from Ahmedabad in western India to London when it crashed, killing all 242 passengers except for one, in addition to 19 individuals on the ground.

The Indian investigation bureau stated in its 15-page report that once the plane reached its maximum recorded speed, "the fuel switches for engine 1 and engine 2 moved from the 'on' position to 'off' one after the other with a time difference of one second." The report added, "In the cockpit audio recording, one pilot can be heard asking the other why he turned off the fuel switch. The other responds that he did not do that," before the aircraft began descending rapidly.

Then, the fuel switches returned to the 'on' position, and both engines began to regain their power, but "one of the pilots sent a distress call - Mayday Mayday Mayday." Air traffic controllers asked the pilots about the problem, but they quickly saw the plane fall and crash, prompting them to dispatch emergency teams to the accident site.

The bureau confirmed that the investigation is ongoing and that "evidence and additional information have been requested from the relevant authorities." The aircraft was carrying 230 passengers, including 169 Indians, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian, in addition to 12 crew members. Dozens of people on the ground were injured.

A British national miraculously survived and was seen emerging from the wreckage of the plane before receiving treatment at a hospital and leaving.