'Why'd you cut off fuel?'—Inside Air India cockpit before crash
What's the story
A preliminary report into the crash of an Air India flight on June 12 has revealed that a cut in the fuel supply to the engines was the reason. The report states that the fuel cutoff switches of both engines were flipped from "RUN" to "CUTOFF" almost simultaneously, cutting off fuel supply to the engines. This incident led to a tragic accident that claimed 260 lives. Here is a detailed timeline of events leading up to the disaster.
Flight details
Aircraft taxies for take-off after backtracking
The Air India Dreamliner VT-ANB had landed in Ahmedabad from New Delhi as AI423 at 11:17am. At 1:18:38pm it was seen leaving Bay 34 of the airport. The aircraft sought taxi clearance at 1:25:15pm, which was approved by air traffic control. A minute later, it taxied from bay to Runway 23 via Taxiway R4 and lined up for takeoff after backtracking.
Critical moments
Cutoff at liftoff
The aircraft was handed over from ground to tower control at 1:32:03pm. Take-off clearance was given at 1:37:33pm and the aircraft started rolling at 1:37:37pm. It lifted off at 1:38:39pm with air/ground sensors transitioning to air mode. At this point, both engines' fuel cutoff switches flipped from "RUN" to "CUTOFF" one after the other with a time gap of one second, cutting off fuel supply.
Rescue efforts
Aircraft loses altitude, crosses perimeter wall
The cockpit voice recording revealed a conversation between the pilots about the cutoff. One of the pilots asked, Why did you cut off?" to which the other replied, "I didn't." CCTV footage showed the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) deploying during the initial climb after liftoff. The aircraft lost altitude before crossing the airport perimeter wall. At 1:38:47pm both engines' values fell below minimum idle speed, and the RAT hydraulic pump started supplying power.
Emergency call
Timeline of the disaster call
Engine 1's fuel cutoff switch transitioned back to "RUN" at 1:38:52pm followed by Engine 2 at 1:38:56pm. At 1:39:05pm one of the pilots transmitted a "MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY" distress call. Data recording stopped at 1:39:11pm. The airplane climbed to 625 feet in clear weather but lost its location data 50 seconds in, according to Flightradar24. A crash fire tender left the airport premises for rescue and firefighting at 1:44:44pm.