Chilling five words heard on radio before Air India horror crash killed 260 people

In a chilling new finding, five terrifying words exchanged between the pilots in the cockpit of the doomed Air India flight that tragically crashed last month have been revealed.

The grim details of the conversation held in the cockpit moments before the Air India flight met its catastrophic end last month, killing 270 people, have been disclosed in the official report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau released late on Friday.

Recovered black box data had already confirmed that within less than 60 seconds of departing from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, the aircraft plummeted and collided with a structure serving as doctors' lodgings at BJ Medical College and Civil Hospital.

Now, investigators believe the Boeing 787 Dreamliner's switches which control fuel flow to both the engines incorrectly flipped almost simultaneously, mere seconds after take-off, starving the engines of fuel and sparking the horror incident as both engines lost power.

The chilling words recorded in the cockpit voice recorder have been verified by the report: "In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other "why did you cut off?" The other pilot responded that he did not do so."

The report goes on: "At about 08:09:05 UTC, one of the pilots transmitted 'Thrust not achieved... falling... MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY'. The ATCO enquired about the call sign. ATCO did not get any response but observed the aircraft crashing outside the airport boundary and activated the emergency response."

The pilots' cockpit exchange has sparked a key question over the crash in the aviation community. Experts are wondering how the fuel switches were accidentally flipped mid-flight, especially as they are specifically designed to be 'highly reliable' and constructed in such a way, so as to prevent unintentional activation.

To unlock each lever, it must first be pulled upwards before it can be flipped. They're also fitted with protective guard brackets to prevent accidental bumps or nudges.

A Canada-based air accidents investigator told the BBC: "It would be almost impossible to pull both switches with a single movement of one hand, and this makes accidental deployment unlikely."

US aviation safety expert John Cox reiterated: "You can't bump them [the fuel switches that feed the engines] and they move."

As per the investigators' early assessments, there's no indication of any apparent fault with the Boeing or its engines, which suggests that neither GE, the engine maker, nor Boeing will be liable for the accident.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau report also reveals the jet was carrying 54,200kg of fuel, well within the 'allowable limits'. Fuel samples taken from the aircraft's refuelling were also found to be 'satisfactory'.

The report further stated: "The aircraft achieved the maximum recorded airspeed of 180 Knots IAS at about 08:08:42 UTC and immediately thereafter, the Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of 01 sec.

"The Engine N1 and N2 began to decrease from their take-off values as the fuel supply to the engines was cut off. In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so."

However the report does not explicitly state how the switch - used to start and shut down the engines and typically left on in-flight - could have flipped to its cutoff position.

The initial findings are centred around the revelation that the plane's engine fuel flow switches were inexplicably turned off post-takeoff, precipitating an apparent thrust loss shortly after ascent.

In a tragic twist of fate, the commercial jet's emergency-power generator seemed to have been triggered just moments before it nosedived, resulting in the deaths of all but one of the 242 passengers. The ill-fated Flight AI171 barely reached around 625 feet before crashing into a medical college complex, also claiming lives on the ground.

Contrary to initial speculation, the AAIB's preliminary report has now dismissed the possibility of bird strikes causing dual engine failure, as there was "no bird activity" near Ahmedabad at the crash time.

The report states: "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 damage assessment is grim; the report notes: "The Aircraft was destroyed due to impact with the buildings on the ground and subsequent fire. A total of five buildings were impacted and suffered major structural and fire damages."

Detailing the final moments, the report reveals: "As the aircraft was losing altitude, it initially made contact with a series of trees and an incineration chimney inside the Army Medical Corps compound before impacting the northeast wall of the first building."

The devastation continued as the aircraft fragmented further upon collision with additional structures and greenery. According to the report: "As the aircraft moved forward, it continued fragmenting and collided with other structures and vegetation. The impact witness marks on the building and airplane indicated a likely nose-up attitude (about 8°) and wings level."

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national, was the sole survivor among the 242 people onboard the Boeing Dreamliner, managing to walk away from the wreckage despite his injuries. The final report confirms that he has since provided a statement to investigators.