Can the Fuel Switch Be Accidentally Turned Off? Air India Crash Report Reveals Alarming Truth

The preliminary report on the tragic Air India Flight AI-171 crash on June 12 has unearthed startling details, primarily highlighting the disruption in fuel supply to both engines of the Boeing Dreamliner 787 aircraft. According to the findings, both engine fuel-control switches moved to the “cut-off” position within a second of each other, starving the engine of fuel seconds after takeoff and causing the London-bound flight to crash. However, how the fuel switches were disabled remains a mystery, with experts exploring even the sabotage angle.

Released by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), the report shows chaos in the cockpit shortly after the flight took off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The CVR captured the moment of crisis, prompting pilots to engage in a conversation that could be the crux of the investigation.

“Why did you cut off?” asked one of the pilots, only to receive a negative answer. “I didn’t do so,” said the other one. While the exchange underscores pilot shock and confusion over what was assumed to require deliberate action, experts believe the pilots would not be able to switch off the fuel-selector switches accidentally.

“If they were moved because of a pilot, why?” US aviation safety expert Anthony Brickhouse was quoted as saying in a Reuters report. He added that the investigation will reveal how the switches moved to the “cut-off” position in a manner that “doesn’t align with the typical operations.”

Boeing- designed fuel switches use a mechanical safety mechanism, involving a guard requiring a pull-up motion to unlock before flipping. Citing this, experts believe an accidental activation “is extremely unlikely.” Yet, the AAIB has not ruled out unintentional, mechanical, or even intentional action, leaving the reason for the movement of the switches unknown.

At the same time, US aviation expert John Nance told Reuters that a pilot would “normally” never turn the fuel switches off when the flight is taking off. The black box recordings quote one of the pilots confirming that there was no manual intervention. So, could the fuel switch have automatically moved to the “cut-off” position?

According to Boeing, its aircraft do not employ automatic fuel turnoff mechanisms. They use a lift-and-throw safety mechanism, specifically designed to prevent mid-flight accidents. These switches are placed well below the throttle levers and protected on either side to avoid accidental contact. So, while there is no way the fuel switches moved automatically, a mechanical fault cannot be ruled out either.

A 2018 advisory by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) highlighted that switches could potentially be moved without lifting if the locking mechanism becomes disengaged. While this is technically possible, the preliminary findings do not confirm this scenario.

An Air India flight en route to London Gatwick from Ahmedabad plummeted to the ground seconds after takeoff after the plane caught fire mid-air last month. 241 of 242 passengers, including pilots and staff, were killed in one of the deadliest crashes in India’s history.

Read more: The Switch That Shouldn’t Fail: How a Known Flaw May Have Doomed AI-171