No mention of "flaps". No mention of the airplane's take off configuration. No suggestion there was any pilot error. The most common of all airplane issues ... fuel starvation.

The implication (from the full article) was towards pilot suicide, not error, if I am reading it correctly.

I'm not sure where that conclusion comes from. That would be a stupid way to commit "pilot suicide".

In 2018 there was a Boeing/FAA Advisory, to check the operation of the locking mechanism on the Fuel Switches. It was advisory in nature, not a requirement. Air India never checked the switches.

That looks more like mass murder than suicide.

Pilot since 1975 and 34 years hard-labor at ZBW.

This is the best (and only) answer...

TALONIP--"How's the ride?"

If you worked Boston Center for 30+ years, you undoubtedly know my brother & father. They were an ATC's best friend for many years, especially those at Boston Center who had separation errors :plane: :plane:

The fuel control switches are controlled 100% by the pilots. The Boeing design philosophy has always been "pilot first", which means, even on the 787, we ultimately control what happens. I was discussing the fuel control switches on a flight yesterday, there is no way both accidentally moved to the cutoff position. Even with a complete electrical failure, the switches still function as they should and the engines will continue to run. The airplane has 4 (6 if you count the APU) Generators, battery and the RAT.
Also... for those believing the controls were electronically taken over by a passenger 🤦You can't "hack" an airplane and take control of its systems... This isn't Hollywood.

Maybe the pilot shut off the both fuel switches, 1 second apart, thinking he was retracting the landing gears :)

A commercial pilot wouldn’t recognize a cut off switch?? We are not talking about an aging Hollywood star trying to fly his own plane.

One of the regular national news at 6:30 PM had a reporter who mentioned this would be the third time a pilot deliberately crashed his or her plane. Not counting 9-11.

Suicide by pilot - Wikipedia Suicide by pilot - Wikipedia


There seem to be more though.

Yes that certainly appears to be the most likeliest reason. A huge “phew” at Boeing and GE. But certainly so sad if suicide is the case. Wonder what Indian culture is re suicide. And if background/psych/issues re the pilot’s will determine anything and made public. Idiotic way to take your life…. Att photo of the post-crash switch panel with fuel switches ON. And a photo of a standard panel.

The speculation never ends.

Yep, and investigation also doesn’t end, not when 260 people died….

Further update:

‘A black-box recording of dialogue between the flight’s two pilots indicates it was the captain who turned off switches that controlled fuel flowing to the plane’s two engines, according to people familiar with U.S. officials’ early assessment of evidence uncovered in the crash investigation.

The first officer who was flying the Boeing 787 Dreamliner asked the more-experienced captain why he moved the switches to the “cutoff” position after it climbed off the runway, these people said. The first officer expressed surprise and then panicked, these people said, while the captain seemed to remain calm.

A preliminary report of the probe released last week summarized the exchange but didn’t identify which pilot said what. The report, by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, said one pilot asked the other why he moved the switches, while the other denied doing so.’
WSJ July16/25

Wow!

It was a joke...It is probably murder/suicide.

Attached is a photo of the Cockpit on a Boeing 787. Where's the cut off switch?

There are plenty of ways to crash an airplane. Shutting off the fuel supply on take off, wouldn't make my list of the Top 10.

One pilot probably did not want the other one to be able to stop him in his murderous urge to take down the plane . So he lied about turning off the fuel.

Just below the throttles and labeled "Fuel Control" with a position labeled "Cutoff." A pilot rated to fly that plane, especially with passengers onboard, would certainly be familiar with its controls.

"If I were a bank robber, I would have done it this way...." But I don't think like a bank robber which is why I am not a bank robber and why I have no idea what goes through the mind of a bank robber. What may make our Top 10 lists is completely irrelevant to what happened in the cockpit of that plane.

The cut off switches look to me to the left of the flap selector - but I have never flown an 787.
The Air India captain has been treated for depression following the death of his mother in 2022. He was cleared to fly again. He was 56 years old with 15,000 hours of flight under his belt. He turned off both fuel switches 3 seconds after take-off.

Mary Schiavo should stop wasting her time and stop by TOTV for answers.

There are often other possibilities but mass murder does look like the most probable. That's some computer glitch though if that is what it was. And I think that if it were anything but a very low chance of that being the case all the flights with that kind of software would be grounded.

Sequence of events that seemed to be known so far… 3 seconds after take off, the captain, who is supervising the younger pilot actually flying the plane apparently turns off both fuel switches manually. The younger pilot panics and asks captain why did he do that? 10 seconds later the fuel switches are turned back on, we don’t know by who, but it is too late.

look at post#51 for photo of switch locations and actual photo of the recovered (burnt) switch panel from crashed plane

Shutting off the fuel supply to both engines just after take off would be the very best way to crash an airplane in a ball of flame...Which is what happened according to flight data recorder. The switches were moved back to ON, but too late.

At the exact moment when the non-flying pilot would move to retract the landing gear, both fuel cutoff switches were toggled one second apart. The landing gear switch was never toggled.

Hmmm.

This is data analysis...Speculation is just speculation.

This video shows how the fuel switches are toggled. Certainly not something that can happen by accident.

https://fb.watch/AW2Gy_8KS6/?fs=e

The physical switches cannot be moved by accident, at least not with the locking mechanism in place, but do the physical switches connect directly to the fuel supply? If those switches are just inputs to the software and the software controls the fuel supply then there is the possibility that the software could initiate a fuel cutoff without the switches ever moving. This would explain the pilots' statements as transcribed in the report.

Why did it take 10 seconds to switch back to run? Speculation: Perhaps noting that fuel supply was in a cutoff state even though the switches were in the run state, one of the pilots toggled the physical switches to cutoff, waited 10 seconds, then toggled them back to run.

More analysis of the recorders is needed to determine exactly what happened.

I asked AI if there is any possibility that software could turn the fuel cut-off switches on or off.

AI Overview:
India orders airlines to check fuel switches on Boeing jets

No, the fuel cut-off switches (CHT/IFF) on a Boeing 787 are not designed to be controlled by software; they are manually operated by the pilots. While the 787 has sophisticated automation systems, the fuel control switches are physically separate and require a pilot's action to move them between "run" and "cutoff" positions.

My speculation:
What could also explain what happened is that the captain switches off both fuel switches. The pilot, flying the plane, is busy with maneuvers for taking off but notices and panics and asks, Why? The captain calmly answers that he didn’t. Notice, the captain has been told that the cutoff switches are off AND he stays calm. The pilot flying the plane in his panic does not change the flaps or retract the landing gear which we see in the video. The captain is in a position to take control, but does nothing. The pilot flying the plane, quickly turns back the fuel switches, but the damage has been done.

My guess is that Captain Sumeet Sabharwal has research this, ran a simulation on what happens and how soon after fuel is cut off, so he knew what was going to happen.

The pilot turned off the fuel to the engines. Everything is on the voice recorder in the cockpit. Mass murder by pilot will soon be released to the press.

Can I safely assume all expert commenters have a Pilot's License and have actually flown an airplane?

Me posting a video showing how the cutoff switches operate is not a claim of expertise and does not require a pilot's license to see the mechanical operation can not be performed 'accidentally'. Spare us your condescension.

In my case, yes. But only Cessnas. Light planes, when I was learning to fly I couldn’t quite get the plane in the right position to tether it down, so I got out and pushed it into place. Much to the amusement of the people around.

No such thing.

Then I suspect you can’t know about airplanes. This is the type of plane I learned on.

AI Overview
Cessna 150 vs 152 - Thrust Flight
The Cessna 150 is a two-seat, tricycle-gear general aviation airplane, popular for flight training, touring, and personal use. It was first introduced in 1959 and was known for its simplicity and forgiving flight characteristics. The Cessna 150 was produced until 1977, with over 23,000 aircraft manufactured. It was later succeeded by the Cessna 152.

There is no such thing as an FAA Airman's Certificate that only allows someone to fly a Cessna.

& I know about Cessna 150-152's, I landed one on the only FAA recognized Ice runway in the USA and have a few hours in a 150 Aerobat.

Well said.

Okay, I see what you mean.

I think the real issue might be, is that it is very hard for a pilot or anyone to accept, that after all the hours of training, and years of indoctrination of how you are responsible for all on board - that is why the manual over-ride - that a captain, a senior pilot, in this case over 200 people looked up to, to protect - would take them to their death.

Very hard to comprehend why someone would do something like this. They will have to do a very deep dive on the probable suspect's medical history.

Why would that even matter? Does that license mean you know how to fly a 787? It is just simple data analysis from the flight data recorder. It doesn't take a "license"...just common sense and reasoning. The non-flying pilot retracts the landing gear since the flying pilot is laser focused at takeoff.

"I've never done it and don't know how to do it, but I know you what the Pilots did wrong and I know how".

"I've never flown an airplane, but I've read news reports and know how to analyze flight data recorder".

Common sense and reasoning?

2 ATP rated professional pilots have commented on the thread and offered professional opinions that contradict the amateur opinions being expressed. A professional aircraft safety investigator has been quoted as saying there's no evidence this was a "suicide" crash ... but that doesn't seem to deter the rampant speculation.

Only on TOTV.