Webdesk – July 12, 2025 — A preliminary investigation into the fatal crash of an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner in Ahmedabad has revealed a chilling detail: the fuel supply to both engines was manually cut off moments before the plane crashed, killing all but one of the 261 people on board.
According to a confidential report by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), accessed by CNN, the fuel control switches in the cockpit were flipped from RUN to CUTOFF—one after the other—just seconds apart, starving the engines of power right as the plane was lifting off.
The London-bound flight had barely left the runway at Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport when it lost thrust and crashed back to earth, bursting into flames. Only one passenger miraculously survived, making them the sole witness to one of India’s most devastating aviation disasters in recent memory.
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Black box data retrieved from the wreckage included 49 hours of flight recordings and two hours of cockpit audio, including the final moments before the crash. Among the most haunting excerpts was one pilot questioning the other:
“Why was the fuel supply cut?”
It is still unclear which of the two pilots asked the question—and more crucially, who was responsible for flipping the switches. The report does not assign blame yet but raises serious concerns about human error and possible procedural lapses.
According to the data, the aircraft had just reached 180 knots (333 km/h) when both engines’ fuel switches were transitioned to the CUTOFF position, with just a one-second gap between them. With engines starved of fuel, the plane lost lift and plummeted.
The preliminary findings have shaken India’s aviation industry and raised a critical question:
Was this catastrophic crash caused by a tragic human error in the cockpit?
While the investigation is ongoing, aviation experts and families of the victims are demanding full transparency and accountability.
“We need to know the truth. How could such a mistake happen on a Dreamliner with two experienced pilots?” asked a grieving relative of one of the passengers.
As the final report is awaited, the incident serves as a grim reminder that even the most advanced aircraft rely heavily on the judgment and precision of those in the cockpit..
