In the June crash of an Air India plane in Ahmedabad, the fuel supply was apparently interrupted. Aviation expert Heinrich Großbongardt believes the crash was intentionally caused by one of the two pilots.

According to aviation expert Heinrich Großbongardt, the crash of the Air India plane on June 12 in Ahmedabad, in which 260 people lost their lives, was deliberately caused by one of the two pilots.

"Everything indicates that it was a suicide. That one of the two pilots of this aircraft deliberately cut off the fuel supply – and did so at the exact moment the aircraft was most vulnerable, immediately after takeoff," Großbongardt told "Spiegel." Indian investigators had published the preliminary investigation report into the accident.

According to the report, one of the pilots asked the other why he had cut off the fuel supply. The second pilot replied that he had not. The engines then lost power and the aircraft began to rapidly lose altitude, the report continued. Shortly after, the fuel supply switches were turned back on. Although the engines appeared to be regaining speed, shortly afterward one of the pilots sent out a distress call, shouting"Mayday, Mayday, Mayday." When the tower asked what was happening, there was no response. Air traffic controllers saw the plane crash and alerted emergency services.

In the moment immediately after takeoff,"the aircraft needs full thrust to gain altitude and speed," said the former employee of Boeing, Lufthansa, and the pilots' association Cockpit."Shutting off the fuel supply had the opposite effect: The plane crashed."

A technical defect is highly unlikely."The preliminary investigation report states that the two fuel controls for both engines were switched from 'Run' to 'Cutoff' a few seconds after takeoff – one after the other, with a one-second interval between switch 1 and switch 2. As far as human judgment goes, only one of the two men in the cockpit could have done this."

It is unclear which of the two pilots could have switched off the controls

Großbongardt rules out the possibility of the regulators being accidentally activated."There are several safety precautions in place to prevent that," he said. It remains unclear which of the two pilots could have turned off the fuel regulators.

The plane crashed into a residential area in Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff on June 12. Of the 242 people on board, only one survived. According to the airline, 169 passengers were from India, 53 from Great Britain, seven from Portugal, and one from Canada. Officials also said 19 people died on the ground.

The two flight recorders of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which was scheduled to fly to London's Gatwick Airport, were recovered shortly after the accident. Air India stated after the accident that the aircraft was"well maintained" and that both pilots had extensive flight experience.

AFP/jho/ly