(Reuters) -The United States National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said on Friday that recent media reports on the crash of an Air India Boeing Dreamliner that killed 260 people were premature and speculative.

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.

A new report suggests the co-pilot officer on the doomed Air India flight thought the captain may have turned off the plane’s fuel switches shortly before the fatal crash.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) had requested the global media to ‘respect sensitivity’ of the family members of the persons who died in the Air India plane crash

As investigators probe possible pilot error in the Ahmedabad plane tragedy, aviation leaders push for in-cockpit video recorders

The AAIB stated that the Air India crash investigation is ongoing and it's premature to draw conclusions, including pilot error. They criticized selective media reporting, emphasizing the need for the public and media to await the final report with root causes and recommendations.

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy criticized media reports on the Air India Dreamliner crash as speculative. A preliminary investigation cited confusion in the cockpit before the crash. A cockpit recording suggested the captain cut fuel flow.

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy urged caution over early media coverage of the Air India crash, emphasizing that investigations take time and all official updates should come from India’s aviation authorities.

Indian aviation expert dismissed claims made in the Wall Street Journal report on the Air India Al171 crash regarding the chances of the flight commander switching off the fuel controls while the official preliminary report by the Indian aircraft accident body only contains a short pilot denial and lacks the full cockpit voice recorder transcript.