International-News

Boeing Air India, engine power manually shut down: error or deliberate act?

The accident in June claimed the lives of 260 people. Only one survivor. Investigators rule out technical failure

Disturbing details are emerging about the Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner disaster, which crashed in June with 261 people on board, only one of whom survived. According to sources cited exclusively by the Wall Street Journal, the switches controlling the fuel flow to the two engines were turned off at the time of the crash: an action performed manually, possibly by someone in the cockpit.

The hypothesis being examined by American investigators is that the shutdown, which caused a loss of thrust immediately after take-off, was either accidental or deliberate. The switches are normally always activated during flight and their shutdown, sources say, may have triggered the activation of the emergency generator, the compressed air turbine (Rat), detected moments before the plane crashed near a medical student hostel.

US authorities are currently ruling out technical failures: the aircraft appeared to be in perfect operating condition. The preliminary report from the Indian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, expected shortly, will provide the first official findings.

On board, two experienced pilots were flying the aircraft: the captain had accumulated over 10,000 flight hours, while the co-pilot had over 3,400 hours, as reported by Air India. This is the first fatal accident involving a Boeing 787 Dreamliner since it entered service.

THE LATEST NEWS