Goa, July 14 -- Two of India's major commercial pilots' associations have firmly rejected suggestions that human error led to the Air India crash that killed 260 people, following the preliminary investigation report released by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). The report, made public on Saturday, confirmed that the aircraft's engine fuel switches had been inexplicably turned off shortly after takeoff but stopped short of assigning blame or drawing conclusions about the cause.

The cockpit voice recorder documented a brief exchange in which one pilot questioned the other about the fuel cut-off, and the second pilot denied having done so. Beyond this, no further details of the cockpit conversation were disclosed, leaving ...