Overview

• AAIB’s July 11 preliminary report found no airframe or engine defects and recorded both fuel control switches moving to cut-off seconds after takeoff, but it gave only a brief mention to cockpit voice recordings.
• Cockpit voice recordings shared by Western sources reveal one pilot repeatedly asking “Why did you shut off the engines?” before the crash, though the full exchange was condensed in the official summary.
• Western investigators who simulated involuntary switch movement concluded that the levers require deliberate manual activation and cannot move on their own.
• India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation has mandated inspections of fuel control switches on all Boeing 787 and 737 aircraft by July 21 to preempt potential malfunctions.
• Authorities have begun examining Captain Sumeet Sabharwal’s medical records and cockpit recordings as part of a human factors investigation into possible intentional engine shutdown.