Investigators have uncovered chilling audio from Air India Flight 171 that may hold the key to understanding one of India’s most baffling aviation disasters.
The crash, which occurred just 40 seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad and killed all 260 people aboard, now hinges on one haunting question:
why were the aircraft’s fuel switches shut off mid-air, when they should never have been touched?
Sudden Silence in the Cockpit
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner had barely left the runway when both of its fuel-control switches moved to the “cut-off” position, cutting off power to both engines. Normally, these switches are only used after a plane has landed.
According to the preliminary report, the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) captured this eerie exchange:
“Why did you do the cut-off?”
“I didn’t.”
The investigators haven’t yet confirmed who said what. At the time, the co-pilot was flying while the captain was monitoring. Within seconds, one engine began to relight, while the other had not yet regained power when the plane slammed into a densely populated neighborhood.
Aviation safety expert Shawn Pruchnicki told the BBC:
“Was it intentional, or the result of confusion? That seems unlikely… this kind of error doesn’t typically happen without some evident issue.”
Switches That Shouldn’t Fail
The fuel-control switches on Boeing 787 aircraft are designed to prevent accidental activation, requiring the user to lift a lock and flip the switch, making simultaneous, unintentional operation nearly impossible.
A Canada-based air crash investigator said:
“It would be almost impossible to pull both switches with one hand,”
Peter Goelz, a former NTSB official, expressed his concern:
“The finding is very disturbing, that a pilot has shut off the fuel switch within seconds of flying.”
He added:
“The new details suggest someone in the cockpit shut those valves. The question is, who, and why?”
Adding to the mystery, Goelz said that clear voice identification is still missing:
“They haven’t identified the voices yet… that’s crucial. A full transcript is needed, along with people familiar with the pilots to help match voices.”
Could It Be a System Failure?
Some experts are now questioning whether the switches were triggered electronically, not manually. Capt Kishore Chinta, a former Indian aviation investigator, posed the critical question:
“Can the fuel cut-off switches be triggered electronically by the plane’s control unit? If yes, that’s deeply concerning.”
Complicating matters further is a 2018 FAA safety bulletin warning that some Boeing fuel switches were installed with their locking features disengaged. Although Air India wasn’t required to fix the issue, it remains unclear whether that played a role here.
Pilot reaction time also became a factor. One Boeing 787 pilot explained:
“When both engines fail, you go numb. Your mind is on one thing: where to land. There simply wasn’t enough altitude to work with.”
While the aircraft’s Ram Air Turbine (RAT) deployed as an emergency backup, a clear signal of engine failure, it wasn’t enough. The gear was never retracted, likely because the crew was overwhelmed.