A cockpit recording of dialogue between pilots supports the view the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane's engines, said a source briefed on U.S. officials' early assessment of evidence.

Captain Kapil Kohal, a long-time friend and fellow Air India pilot, called Sabharwal “sad sack” but remembered him as a “hero” with a “gentle soul”. “He was my senior at flying school and later in Air India. We called him ‘Sad Sack’ because of his melancholic eyes, but he was deeply charismatic and always ready to help.”

Fuel control switches for the engines of an Air India flight that crashed last month were moved from the “run” to the “cutoff” position moments before impact, starving both engines of fuel, a preliminary investigation report said early Saturday.