Saturday, March 29, 2025
Preliminary Probe Reveals Fuel Cutoff in Both Engines Caused Ahmedabad Air India Crash
One of India’s deadliest aviation incidents in recent history—the crash of Air India Flight 171 in Ahmedabad—may have been triggered by a mysterious dual engine shutdown due to fuel cutoff, according to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau’s (AAIB) preliminary 15-page report released this week.
The most striking revelation in the report is that both engines of the Boeing 787-8 aircraft shut down just seconds after takeoff. The fuel cutoff switches for both engines unexpectedly moved from the “RUN” position to “CUTOFF,” within one second of each other. This caused an immediate loss of thrust.
The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) captured one pilot asking the other, “Why did you cut off?” The response was, “I didn’t.” This exchange suggests the fuel cutoff was unintentional and possibly the result of a malfunction or an unknown trigger.
The pilots attempted to restart the engines. Engine 1’s fuel switch was returned to “RUN” within 10 seconds. However, the aircraft had already lost critical altitude, leading to the fatal crash. The ram air turbine (RAT), designed to provide emergency power during engine failure, automatically deployed—confirmed via CCTV footage.
Flaps and Landing Gear: The flaps were in 5-degree takeoff configuration and the landing gear was down.
Weather Conditions: Weather was reported as good, and there were no signs of bird strikes or mechanical failure.
Aircraft Weight and Cargo: The aircraft was operating within normal weight limits, carrying no hazardous materials.
Fuel Quality: Fuel samples from the airport were clean. However, limited samples from the aircraft are still under analysis.
FAA Advisory: In 2018, the FAA issued a safety bulletin on locking mechanisms for fuel control switches in Boeing 737s. The advisory was not mandatory and did not directly apply to Boeing 787s, which use similar switches.
Throttle System Checks: The aircraft’s throttle control module was replaced in 2019 and 2023. No prior issues with the fuel switches were reported in maintenance records.
While the report confirms that a sudden loss of fuel supply caused both engines to shut down, it stops short of explaining why the cutoff occurred. Investigators are continuing technical inspections, analyzing the sole survivor’s testimony, and awaiting post-mortem results for further clues.
At this stage, the AAIB has not recommended any immediate safety changes to Boeing 787-8 aircraft or the GE GEnx-1B engines.
The Ahmedabad Air India crash report identifies a critical and unexpected loss of fuel supply to both engines as the immediate cause of the tragedy. However, the reason behind this sudden fuel cutoff remains unsolved. The investigation is ongoing, and it may take more time to reach a definitive conclusion.
