Co-pilot was flying plane, asked why he switched off fuel supply to engine, vital information in Ahmedabad disaster

NEW DELHI: The preliminary investigation report of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau into the Ahmedabad plane crash has been released. The report revealed that the crash occurred after both engines fuel control switches turned from run to cutoff, leading to sudden loss of thrust.

In the cockpit voice recorder, one of the pilots can be heard asking the other why he turned off this switch. The second one replies that he did not do it. Co-pilot Clive Kundar was flying the plane. The pilot-in-command, Sumeet Sabharwal, was observing this. Sabharwal had 8,200 hours of flying experience of Boeing 787. Kundar had an experience of flying 1100 hours.

The plane flew for just 32 seconds. It was found that one engine of the plane functioned for only a few seconds and the second engine did not work. The report said the plane did not suffer a bird hit and the weather was not adverse.

A two-page report was submitted to the union civil aviation ministry. The preliminary report was prepared based on the information collected in the first phase. The very next day after the accident, an Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau committee was formed and a four-member team started the investigation. The information in this investigation report has been released. The Air India flight, which left for London on June 12, caught fire after take-off. The crash killed at least 260 and only one survived in the accident.