Air India captain ‘said eerie words to co-pilot at takeoff’ before fatal crash killing 260

The captain of the doomed Air India flight allegedly issued a six-word message to his first officer before the fatal crash killed all but one on board.

Air India flight AI171 crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad Airport into the BJ Medical College hostel in Ahmedabad on 12 June.

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national, is the only person who survived, while the other 241 people on board were all killed, and 19 others on the ground died.

A preliminary report published last week suggests that the fuel supplies to the engines of the jet were cut off without either pilot having switched them off.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said: "In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cut off. The other pilot responded that he did not do so.

260 died as a result of the Air India crash (DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Two Western sources, who are said to be familiar with the contents of the black box recordings recovered from the crash, told Corriere della Sera that Captain Sumeet Sabharwal said to First Officer Clive Kunder that 'the plane is in your hands'.

The sources said it is not unusual for the first officer to manage takeoff proceedings.

Then, as the engines started to recover, one of the pilots transmitted 'mayday, mayday, mayday' before the jet was observed by air traffic control to crash outside the airport.

The report states: “The aircraft was destroyed due to impact with the buildings on the ground and subsequent fire.

Sumeet Sabharwal was the Captain of the plane (Handout)

"A total of five buildings were impacted and suffered major structural and fire damages.”

It added that after takeoff, '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," it said.

“As per the EAFR, the Engine 1 fuel cutoff switch transitioned from CUTOFF to RUN at about 08:08:52 UTC. The APU Inlet Door began opening at about 08:08:54 UTC, consistent with the APU Auto Start logic.

First Officer Clive Kunder (pictured) allegedly asked the captain why he moved the fuel switches (Handout)

“Thereafter, at 08:08:56 UTC the Engine 2 fuel cutoff switch also transitions from CUTOFF to RUN. When fuel control switches are moved from CUTOFF to RUN while the aircraft is inflight, each engine’s full authority dual engine control (FADEC) automatically manages a relight and thrust recovery sequence of ignition and fuel introduction.”

An Air India spokesman said of the report's findings: “Air India stands in solidarity with the families and those affected by the AI171 accident.

“We continue to mourn the loss and are fully committed to providing support during this difficult time.”