July 18 (Reuters) - A cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots of the Air India flight that crashed last month supports the view that the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane's engines, said a source briefed on U.S. officials' early assessment of evidence.

Based on the cockpit voice recordings, officials believe the evidence points to the captain as the one who cut off the engines' fuel supply.

This response came after The Wall Street Journal published a report claiming that a cockpit voice recording allegedly suggested the captain of the ill-fated flight had manually cut off fuel supply to the engines.

Air India has announced a phased resumption of its international operations following a "Safety Pause" implemented after the tragic crash of flight AI171 on June 12, reported news agency ANI. The airline had suspended or reduced multiple routes to conduct precautionary inspections on its Boeing 787 aircraft and to adapt to longer flight paths necessitated by regional airspace closures.

The CEO of Air India sought to draw a line under rife speculation around the cause of last month's air disaster in Ahmedebad, saying the preliminary investigation had ruled out a mechanical cause for the crash.

Wreckage of the crashed Air India Plane is lying at the Ahmedabad Airport premises in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on July 12, 2025. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu