New Delhi, July 12 - “Why did you cut off fuel?” It was a question asked in panic, disbelief, and desperation, now etched into the final seconds of a tragedy that claimed 231 lives. The phrase, reportedly uttered by one of the pilots of the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that crashed on June 12, may be the key to understanding what went fatally wrong at 35,000 feet.

The aircraft, a long-haul Dreamliner flying a routine route, suddenly plunged from the sky after both engines lost power mid-flight. According to sources close to the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) data, the transition to “CUTOFF” mode normally used to shut off fuel after landing, happened during flight, leaving the aircraft gliding helplessly over the Arabian Sea.

The Dreamliner is no ordinary aircraft. Packed with redundant systems, safety protocols, and digital protections, it’s designed to prevent just this kind of scenario. The CUTOFF function isn’t something pilots engage accidentally; it requires deliberate action. So how, in a cockpit crewed by seasoned professionals, did such a critical function get triggered?

That question is at the heart of a high-stakes investigation led by India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), with support from Boeing and international aviation experts. Officials are analyzing whether the switch was mistakenly activated during a routine checklist, misinterpreted due to a technical anomaly, or somehow the result of human confusion under duress.

The voice recordings recovered from the cockpit paint a terrifying timeline. What began as a normal flight quickly descended into chaos. Alarms blared. Thrust was lost. One pilot’s voice rose in panic as he asked the question that now defines the tragedy. What followed were desperate, unsuccessful attempts to restart the engines, a mechanical scramble that ended in silence.

Investigators say the flight showed no signs of trouble before the incident. Weather was clear, communications were normal, and the aircraft had passed all safety checks. And yet, it ended in disaster plummeting into the sea with no survivors and very few clues.

For the families of those lost, the emerging details offer some clarity but no comfort. The idea that a mistake, human or mechanical - could have sealed the fate of the entire flight is both horrifying and deeply human. Fatigue, distraction, or even a momentary lapse in understanding could have played a role.

As the investigation continues, experts hope to pinpoint not just what happened, but how and why. Until then, the final words from that cockpit hang in the air like an unresolved chord, painful, perplexing, and profoundly human: “Why did you cut off fuel?”