A cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots of the Air India flight that crashed last month indicates the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane's engines, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

A preliminary report by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) previously confirmed that switches controlling fuel flow to the plane’s two engines had been turned off shortly after lift-off, leading to a catastrophic loss of thrust.

The US aviation regulator has said fuel control switches in Boeing aeroplanes are safe, following their reported involvement in a fatal Air India crash that killed 260 people in June. The switches' safety has become a key point of concern after a preliminary report on the disaster was released by investigators on Friday.