On July 16, according to some sources familiar with the matter, the cabin recording of an Air India flight that crashed last month showed that the captain likely intentionally cut the fuel flow into the plane's engine.
This is seen as the main cause of the Boeing 737 Dreamliner crash into a dormitory in India on June 12, killing 260 people.
The source said that just a few seconds after takeoff, the vice captain - the pilot of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner - asked the more experienced captain why the fuel switches were turned "off". The source did not mention the captain's response.
Previously, on July 12, the Air Traffic Accident Investigation Agency of India (AAIB) said that the fuel switches had gone from a running state to a cutting off just a second after takeoff, but did not specify how they were turned off.
Notably, the captain is said to have denied it after receiving a question from the vice principal, according to AAIB.
Because of this, the Boeing 737 Dreamliner is said to have lost its thrust and crashed to the ground. Scene from the surveillance camera shows that a backup energy source called a Ram gas turbine has been deployed, meaning the engine is out of power at that time.
At the scene of the accident, both fuel switches were found at the "running" location and there were signs that both engines had been restarted before the plane crashed at low altitude.
It is not yet clear why the switches were turned off, but AAIB has not made any safety recommendations for Boeing or the GE engine manufacturer.
Meanwhile, on July 14, Air India CEO Donald Wilson said that the preliminary report did not find any mechanical or maintenance errors and all necessary maintenance work had been carried out.
