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Airline probes cause of India crash that killed 260


Family members of Lawrence Christian, one of the victims of the Air India crash, grieve during his funeral. Associated Press / Photo by Ajit Solanki

Airline probes cause of India crash that killed 260

Air India said in a Tuesday statement that it had not found any issues with the locking mechanisms for fuel switches on its Boeing 787-8 jets. Regulators in India last week ordered all airlines to inspect the switches after a preliminary assessment of the June crash of Air India Flight AI171 determined the fuel supply to both engines cut off seconds into the flight. The crash killed all but one of the 242 people on board and 19 more on the ground.

Authorities continued to investigate whether one of the pilots cut the fuel supply intentionally or accidentally. In audio from the cockpit voice recorder, the first officer can be heard asking the captain why he cut off fuel, to which he responded that he had not. The plane’s locking mechanisms for the fuel switches are intended to prevent them from being bumped or jostled during the flight.

What about the victims? Of the 242 people on board the plane, 52 were British citizens. The flight was bound for London’s Gatwick airport from the city of Ahmedabad. The families of two British victims said that remains sent back to the United Kingdom were incorrectly identified, and were not their missing relatives, lawyer James Healy-Pratt told CBS News. Healy-Pratt claims to represent more than 20 victim’s families. Indian authorities said they were aware of the claim and that officials had handled all remains carefully. 

Dig deeper: Read my report about the initial investigation into the crash.


Lauren Canterberry

Lauren Canterberry is a reporter for WORLD. She graduated from the World Journalism Institute and the University of Georgia with a degree in journalism, both in 2017. She worked as a local reporter in Texas and now lives in Georgia with her husband.


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