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Crash of Boeing 787 killed 260 people last month

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Pilots experienced, unclear how fuel switches moved

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One pilot asked the other why he cut off the fuel

(Recasts, adds expert and Air India comment and details

throughout)

By Allison Lampert and Aditya Kalra

July 12 (Reuters) - A preliminary report depicted

confusion in the cockpit shortly before an Air India jetliner

crashed, killing 260 people last month, after the plane's engine

fuel cutoff switches almost simultaneously flipped, starving the

engines of fuel.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner bound for London from the

Indian city of Ahmedabad immediately began to lose thrust and

sink down, according to the report on the world's deadliest

aviation accident in a decade released on Saturday by Indian

accident investigators.

The report by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau

(AAIB) about the June 12 crash shortly after takeoff raises

fresh questions over the position of the critical engines fuel

cutoff switches, while suggesting that Boeing ( BA ) and engine maker

GE had no apparent responsibility for the accident.

Almost immediately after the plane lifted off the ground,

CCTV footage shows a backup energy source called a ram air

turbine had deployed, indicating a loss of power from the

engines.

In the flight's final moments, one pilot was heard on the

cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel.

"The other pilot responded that he did not do so," the report

said.

It did not identify which remarks were made by the flight's

captain and which by the first officer, nor which pilot

transmitted "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday" just before the crash.

The commanding pilot of the Air India plane was Sumeet

Sabharwal, 56, who had a total flying experience of 15,638 hours

and, according to the Indian government, was also an Air India

instructor. His co-pilot was Clive Kunder, 32, who had 3,403

hours of total experience.

The fuel switches had almost simultaneously flipped from run

to cutoff just after takeoff. The preliminary report did not say

how the switches could have flipped to the cutoff position

during the flight.

U.S. aviation safety experts have said a pilot would not

be able to accidentally move the fuel switches.

Flipping to cutoff almost immediately cuts the engines. It

is most often used to turn engines off once a plane has arrived

at its airport gate and in certain emergency situations, such as

an engine fire. The report does not indicate there was any

emergency requiring an engine cutoff.

At the crash site in Ahmedabad, both fuel switches were

found in the run position and the report said there had been

indications of both engines relighting before the low-altitude

crash.

U.S. aviation safety expert Anthony Brickhouse said a key

question is why the were switches moved in a way that is

inconsistent with normal operations.

"Did they move on their own or did they move because of the

pilots?" he asked. "And if they were moved because of a pilot,

why?"

Air India acknowledged the report in a statement on the

social media site X. The carrier said it was cooperating with

Indian authorities but declined further comment.

India's AAIB, which released the report around 1:30 a.m. IST

on Saturday (2000 GMT on Friday), said at this stage of the

investigation, there were no recommendations to Boeing 787-8 or

GE GEnx-1B engine operators or manufacturers.

Boeing ( BA ) and GE Aerospace did not respond immediately to

requests for comment.

CRASH PROBE

The AAIB, an office under India's civil aviation ministry,

is leading the probe into the crash.

Most air crashes are caused by multiple factors, with a

preliminary report due 30 days after the accident according to

international rules, and a final report expected within a year.

The plane's black boxes, combined cockpit voice recorders

and flight data recorders, were recovered in the days following

the crash and later downloaded in India.

Black boxes provide crucial data such as altitude, airspeed

and final pilot conversations which help in narrowing down

possible causes of the crash.

Air India has been under intense scrutiny since the crash.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency said it plans to

investigate its budget airline, Air India Express, after Reuters

reported the carrier did not follow a directive to change engine

parts of an Airbus A320 in a timely manner and falsified records

to show compliance.

India's aviation watchdog has also warned Air India for

breaching rules for flying three Airbus planes with overdue

checks on escape slides and in June warned it about "serious

violations" of pilot duty timings.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board declined to

comment on the release of the report.

NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy had previously urged the Indian

government to be transparent in the interest of aviation safety.