Investigators released a preliminary account of the crash, describing how the plane struggled after its fuel supply was cut.

The fuel switches to both engines on the Air India Flight 171 moved to the "cutoff" position immediately before the crash that killed 260 after taking off on June 12.

According to the airline, an "indication of a mechanical issue in an engine" prompted the flight crew to divert the Airbus A330 to an Air Force base in the Azores. It is a remote chain of islands off the coast of Portugal. "Seeing all the emergency vehicles lining the runway, it reminded us it was a potentially dangerous situation," Elder said.

Delta Air Lines passengers spent a day on the remote Azores island chain, nearly 1,000 miles from the European mainland.