It has been a month since the Air India plane crash, but the exact cause remains unclear. Investigations are ongoing, and discussions surrounding the preliminary investigation report are progressing. Some reports suggest pilot error, while others point toward possible technical malfunction.
A critical test is currently underway to identify the cause of the crash, focusing on the aircraft’s fuel control switch. The test, led by international airlines, is examining the locking systems of the fuel control switches used in Boeing 787 aircraft. The first phase is being conducted on aircraft belonging to Etihad and Singapore Airlines.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has retrieved both the black box data and the cockpit voice recordings. Only brief segments of pilot conversation have been made public so far. These initial fragments are under discussion, while the remaining portions of the recordings are yet to be released and will undergo detailed analysis. Additional technical examinations are also underway.
Investigators now suspect that the failure of the fuel control switch may be due to an electrical fault in the aircraft. Based on this, the current testing phase on Etihad and Singapore Airlines planes was initiated.
Engineers have been instructed to inspect the fuel control switches in all Boeing 787 models. The primary aim is to determine whether these switches could automatically shift from ‘run’ to ‘cut-off’ mode without pilot input. The investigation is particularly focused on whether a malfunction in the locking mechanism could have led to the crash.
Meanwhile, PTI has reported that Air India had replaced the cockpit module, containing the fuel control switches, twice before the crash. These replacements were carried out based on Boeing’s recommendations.
Despite this, both Boeing and the US aviation regulatory agency have consistently affirmed that the design of the fuel control switches is safe. Records show that the cockpit module in the crashed aircraft was replaced in 2019 and again in 2023. According to Boeing’s Maintenance Planning Document (MPD), such modules are to be replaced every 24,000 hours flights.
The investigation team has pointed to the fuel control switch of the crashed plane in Ahmedabad as the likely cause. According to media reports, the suspect switch was part of the cockpit module that had already been replaced during routine maintenance.
Notably, the cockpit voice recorder captured a key exchange between the two pilots. When one asked, “Why did you cut the fuel?”, the other responded, “I didn’t do that.” This conversation has raised a critical question: What if neither pilot actually activated the switch? Investigators are now actively exploring the possibility that the fuel control switch may have turned off automatically, without any human intervention.
