The fuel supply to the engines of the "Air India" plane that crashed last month, killing 241 people on board, was apparently cut off without any of the pilots turning it off, a preliminary report into the crash says, PA Media/DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
The "Boeing" The 787 Dreamliner crashed shortly after takeoff on June 12 in one of the deadliest air crashes in British history.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch report said the plane was carrying 54,200 kg of fuel, which was within the "permissible limits".
The report also said: "The aircraft reached its maximum recorded speed of 180 knots at approximately 08:08:42 UTC [GMT] and immediately thereafter the fuel cut-off switches on Engine 1 and Engine 2 were switched from RUN to CUTOFF in sequence, with an interval of 01 second. Engines 1 and 2 began to reduce their values during takeoff as the fuel supply to the engines was cut off."
"In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots can be heard asking the other why he cut off. The other pilot replied that he did not do so.
Referring to data recovered from the plane's two extended flight recorders (EAFRs), the report continued: "According to the EAFR, the fuel cut-off switch on engine 1 was switched from CUTOFF to RUN at approximately 08:08:52.
As the engines began to restart, one of the pilots signaled for help before the plane was spotted by air traffic control crashing outside the airport.
The crash killed 241 people on board, one passenger survived, 19 others were also killed, and 67 were seriously injured.
The plane crashed into a medical college dormitory in a residential area of Ahmedabad.