‘Why did you cut off?’: Air India flight had fuel supply ‘shut off’ to both engines
An aviation expert has been left stunned by a bombshell detail into the Air India crash that killed 260 people.
July 12, 2025 - 12:56PM
Fuel control switches to the engines of the fatal Air India flight were moved from the “run” to the “cutoff” position moments before impact, in a move that experts say would have had to be “intentional”.
A 15-page preliminary report into the crash, which killed 260 people, was released by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on Saturday morning AEST, revealing that one of the pilots switched both engine fuel supply from “run” to “cutoff” shortly after take off.
The report details how cockpit audio from Air India Flight 171 captured one pilot asking, “Why did you cut-off?” with the other responding, “I didn’t” before the plane went down.
Aviation consultant Neil Hansford said the move could not have been an accident and urged investigators to take a look at what was happening in the “personal lives” of the pilots at the time.
The “cut off” switches are usually only used in the scenario of a engine malfunction or fire to one of the engines.
“I have operated nine airlines and I’ve never ever heard of the fuel being turned off, let alone twice,” Mr Hansford told news.com.au.
The report detailed that the pilot-in-command was a 56-year-old man with more than 15,000 total flying hours, with the co-pilot a 32-year-old man with more than 3400 flying hours.
“With that level of experience, you just wouldn’t do it,” Mr Hansford said.
“They don’t lack experience. They don’t lack training. It wasn’t a medical episode. So you’ve got to start to look at intent.”
