Air India crash: Can pilots accidentally shut engines? 'RUN-CUTOFF' switches, 1 second-gap confound experts

A preliminary investigation report into last month's Air India crash revealed that within seconds of the takeoff, the fuel control switches on the engines were moved from the "RUN" position to the “CUTOFF” position. The report, issued by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, however, didn't conclude who was at fault for the crash, which killed 260 people, including 241 passengers and crew. One of the two pilots questioned the other why he had turned off the switches. The other replied that he didn't turn off the switch before sounding the Mayday alerts. After the accident, both switches were found in the "run" position, indicating the pilots' last-ditch effort to salvage the situation. Experts, however, have raised some pertinent questions as to the findings of the report.

The 15-page report said that once the aircraft achieved its top recorded speed, "the Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of 01 sec". It didn't reveal why there was a gap of one second.

"In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so," it added. The switches then returned to the "RUN" position, and the engines appeared to be gathering power, but "one of the pilots transmitted 'MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY'", the report added.

Earlier this week, a report, citing sources, said the authorities had narrowed their focus to the movement of the engine fuel switches.

The US Federal Aviation Administration had issued an information bulletin in 2018 about "the potential disengagement of the fuel control switch locking feature", the Air India crash report pointed out, adding that it was not considered an "unsafe condition".

It wasn't clear from the cockpit recording mentioned in the report which pilot said what. The preliminary report also does not say how the switch could have flipped to the cutoff position.

What experts said on the Air India crash report

US aviation safety expert John Cox, however, told Reuters that a pilot can't accidentally move the fuel switches. He said one can't bump the switches and move them. US aviation safety expert Anthony Brickhouse also doubted that the pilots may have accidentally pushed the switches. "If they were moved because of a pilot, why?" he asked.

The switches flipped a second apart, the report said, roughly the time it would take to shift one and then the other, US aviation expert John Nance told Reuters.

Air India has acknowledged the receipt of the 15-page preliminary report and said it continues to fully cooperate with the authorities.

"We continue to mourn the loss and are fully committed to providing support during this difficult time. Air India is working closely with stakeholders, including regulators. We continue to fully cooperate with the AAIB and other authorities as their investigation progresses," Air India stated in a post on X.

The crash killed 260 people, including 229 passengers, 12 crew members, and 19 people on the ground.