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Investing.com-- Fresh details from the probe into a deadly Air India crash in June, involving a Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) 787 Dreamliner, are shifting focus to the senior pilot in the plane, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
A black box recording of dialogue between the flight’s two pilots indicates that it was the captain who turned off the fuel switches controlling the plane’s two engines, the WSJ report said, citing people familiar with U.S. officials’ early assessment of evidence uncovered in the probe.
The first officer who was flying the Boeing plane asked the more experienced captain why he moved the fuel switches to the “cutoff” position after the plane left the runway, the WSJ report said. The first officer appeared to be panicking, while the captain seemed calm.
A preliminary report of the probe released last week also suggested that it was the captain who turned off the switches, although it did not elaborate on whether turning off the switches might have been accidental, or deliberate.
The fuel switches being turned off, which cut power to the plane’s engines, appeared to be the main reason behind the crash, the preliminary report showed. The crash is primarily under investigation by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, with assistance from UK and U.S. authorities.
The Air India flight crashed shortly after taking off, with 241 of the 242 people on board being killed. The plane crashed into a building, killing an additional 19 people.