The preliminary report on the AI 171 crash, released by India’s investigative agency, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), has highlighted the fuel switch cutoff. The report states that the fuel switch was switched from “Run” to “Cutoff” and was recovered in “Run” mode from the crash site in Ahmedabad.
However, this is not the first time a Boeing 787 Dreamliner has experienced such a problem. A similar case of the fuel switch being inadvertently switched off was reported in a previous incident involving the same aircraft model.
The 15-page AAIB report also mentions a paraphrased conversation between Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder. One of the pilots asked the other why he had cut off the fuel supply to the engine. The other pilot replied that he had not. Shortly afterward, the cockpit issued a distress call to air traffic control, and the AI 171 crashed into the medical students’ dormitory 15 seconds later. The report does not mention how or why the fuel switch occurred. The 15-page AAIB report also mentions a paraphrased conversation between Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder. One of the pilots asked the other why he had cut off the fuel supply to the engine. The other pilot replied no. Shortly afterward, the cockpit issued a distress call to air traffic control (ATC), and the AI 171 crashed into the medical students’ dormitory 15 seconds later. The report does not mention how or why the fuel switch occurred.
This isn’t the first time a Boeing 787 has experienced such a failure: US expert
In an exclusive statement to Financial Express, US aviation expert Mary Schiavo noted that this is not the first time such a failure has occurred on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. She cited a 2019 incident on an All Nippon Airways (ANA) flight in Japan, where the fuel transition occurred on its own, without pilot intervention, while the aircraft was on final approach.
The ANA flight, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner flying from Tokyo to Osaka with 109 passengers and nine crew, suffered a failure in one of its two engines after the pilot deployed the thrust reversers for landing. The aircraft had to be towed off the runway, but no injuries were reported.
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