Air India Cockpit Audio Suggests Captain May Have Cut Fuel Before Deadly Crash — Source
A cockpit voice recording from the Air India flight that crashed in Ahmedabad last month appears to indicate the captain may have deliberately cut off fuel to the engines, according to a source familiar with early U.S. assessments of the evidence.
The first officer, who was piloting the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, reportedly questioned the captain’s actions after the fuel switches were moved into a position that starved the engines. The first officer asked the captain to return the switches to their original position, the source told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity as the investigation remains ongoing.
Although there is no video evidence showing which pilot moved the switches, the audio recording strongly suggests the captain was responsible, the source added.
This new detail comes from a preliminary analysis by U.S. officials and is not part of any formal report. The crash on June 12, which occurred shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, killed 260 people and is now considered the deadliest aviation accident in over a decade.
Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported similar findings. However, India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), which is leading the investigation, cautioned against drawing conclusions based on “selective and unverified reporting”, stating that it is still too early to determine the cause.
A preliminary report released by the AAIB on Saturday stated that one pilot was heard asking why the fuel was cut off, to which the other responded that they hadn’t done it. The identities of the speakers were not confirmed, but the report noted that both fuel switches moved from “run” to “cutoff” just one second apart, shortly after takeoff.
Soon after liftoff, surveillance footage showed the deployment of the ram air turbine, a backup power source that typically activates when engines fail. The London-bound aircraft lost thrust after reaching just 650 feet, then began to descend rapidly.
Though the fuel switches were turned back to “run” and the engines attempted an automatic restart, the plane was already too low and too slow to recover, aviation expert John Nance explained.
The aircraft struck trees and a chimney before crashing into a building at a nearby medical college, resulting in the deaths of 19 people on the ground and 241 of the 242 people on board.
In an internal memo this week, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson confirmed that the preliminary report found no mechanical or maintenance faults, and all required servicing had been up to date. Consequently, the AAIB’s report included no safety recommendations for either Boeing or engine manufacturer GE.
Following the report’s release, both the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeing reassured that the fuel switch lock mechanisms on Boeing aircraft are safe. This was detailed in a document reviewed by Reuters and supported by multiple sources.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is assisting with the investigation. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy confirmed they had full access to both the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, and emphasized the importance of learning from such rare tragedies.
“The safety of international air travel depends on uncovering every possible lesson from these events,” Homendy said. “And when there are no immediate safety threats, confirming that is just as important.”
Aviation analyst John Nance said the evidence strongly suggests a human action — specifically someone flipping the fuel switches — was involved, as “there is no other rational explanation” based on current information. However, he stressed the need for a thorough investigation to rule out any other contributing factors.
The disaster has reignited calls for the installation of cockpit video recorders on commercial airliners. Nance noted that investigators would have greatly benefited from visual footage in this case.
Source: Reuters