Flight captain switched off fuel flow to engines in Air India crash: US early assessment

Black-box recording indicates that the flight's captain switched off fuel flow to both engines of the recently crashed Air India airplane, according to media reports on Wednesday, citing preliminary U.S. assessment of evidence.

First Officer Clive Kunder asked Captain Sumeet Sabharwal why he moved the switches to the "cutoff" position after it climbed off the runway, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Relevant Indian authorities haven't responded to the report.

Both engines of the recently crashed Air India airplane had shut down mid-air within seconds of take-off, showed a preliminary investigation report released on July 12 by the Indian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (ABI).

According to Indian media, the report said that before the Flight AI-171 plane crashed, the switches controlling the fuel flow of the two engines switched from "RUN" to "CUT OFF" within a second of each other, which caused the aircraft engines to stop working. The cockpit voice recorder shows that one of the pilots asked, "Why did you cut off?" and the other pilot replies, "I didn't."

The accident report also showed that both switches were moved back to the "RUN" position and while Engine 1 showed signs of recovery, Engine 2 could not.

"The CCTV footage obtained from the airport showed Ram Air Turbine (RAT) getting deployed during the initial climb immediately after lift-off. No significant bird activity is observed in the vicinity of the flight path. The aircraft started to lose altitude before crossing the airport perimeter wall," the report said.

The report noted that the RAT was deployed, indicating a total loss of power and thrust in the aircraft. The report also showed that the flap settings and landing gear positions were normal at the time of the crash.

The London-bound Air India aircraft, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed on June 12 shortly after takeoff from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, about 17 km south of Gandhinagar, the capital city of India's western state of Gujarat, killing all but one of the 242 people on board and 19 others on the ground.

Flight captain switched off fuel flow to engines in Air India crash: US early assessment

Chinese President Xi Jinping awarded Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic the Friendship Medal of the People's Republic of China in Beijing on Monday.

As solemn music played and the golden doors slowly opened, Xi and Vucic entered the hall together, followed by Xi's wife Peng Liyuan and Vucic's wife Tamara Vucic.

Applauding guests rose to their feet, and paid respect to the two heads of state.

A Guard of Honor escorted the Friendship Medal into the hall, and amid solemn music, Xi formally presented the medal to Vucic.

Xi highlighted Vucic's long-standing commitment to advancing China-Serbia friendship and underscored the significance of the honor.

"President Vucic has long stayed committed to China-Serbia friendship, and he has always given China the firmest and clearest support on issues concerning China's core interests and major concerns. He gains the respect from the Chinese people. This medal is not only a high recognition of President Vucic's contributions to bilateral friendship, but also carries the earnest expectations of both peoples for building a China-Serbia community with a shared future in the new era," Xi said.

The Friendship Medal is China's highest state honor for foreigners, reserved for those who have made outstanding contributions to China's modernization drive, promoting exchange and cooperation between China and the world, and safeguarding world peace.

At the invitation of Xi, Vucic is on a state visit to China from Sunday to Thursday, with this marking his first state visit to China and his ninth trip to the country overall.

Xi awards Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic China's friendship medal