Thu Jul 17 10:50:00 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a news article summarizing the provided text, focusing on the key points:
**Headline: Pilot Action Suspected in Air India Crash, Cockpit Recording Suggests Fuel Cutoff**
**Ahmedabad, India – July 17, 2025** – A preliminary investigation into last month’s Air India crash that killed 260 people is pointing towards pilot action as a possible cause. The Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the U.S. officials’ early assessment, reported that a cockpit recording indicates the captain may have cut off fuel to the plane’s engines shortly after takeoff.
The Air India flight, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner bound for London, crashed shortly after departing from Ahmedabad on June 12th.
According to the report, the First Officer questioned the Captain, Sumeet Sabharwal, about moving the fuel switches to the cutoff position. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau’s (AAIB) preliminary report confirmed that the fuel switches had been switched from “run” to “cutoff” a second apart just after takeoff, but did not specify who flipped them.
The plane lost thrust after reaching a height of 650 feet, clipping trees and a chimney before crashing into a medical college campus, killing 19 people on the ground in addition to the majority of passengers and crew.
While the AAIB preliminary report found no mechanical or maintenance faults, the growing circumstantial evidence suggests a crew member action. Aviation safety expert John Nance told Reuters, “The circumstantial evidence increasingly indicates that a crew member flipped the engine fuel switches, given there was no other rationale explanation that was consistent with the information released to date.”
The investigation is ongoing, with authorities still needing to rule out other possible factors. A final report is expected within a year. The crash has reignited the debate over cockpit image recorders, which investigators believe would have provided valuable evidence in determining the cause of the crash.
Air India is already under scrutiny as the European Union Aviation Safety Agency plans to investigate Air India Express.
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