India, July 13 -- The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's preliminary report into the Air India flight 171 crash, released early Saturday, identified fuel being cut off to both engines shortly after takeoff as the cause of the disaster-with fuel control switches found in the "cutoff" position triggering a global debate over whether pilot action or mechanical failure caused 260 deaths. The report also said that there was no "recommended action" for either Boeing, the maker of the aircraft , or GE, the engine manufacturer, at this time.

"At about 08:08:42 UTC (1:38pm, 42 seconds) 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 s...