An examination by aircraft manufacturer Boeing did not find any abnormalities in the fuel control switch of an Air India 787 Dreamliner plane, the Union government told Parliament on Monday, after the airline’s pilots on a London-Bengaluru flight flagged a possible defect in February.

The aircraft was grounded after the crew reported that the left fuel control switch slipped from “run” to “cut off” when pushed slightly and did not lock in the selected position.

Fuel control switches have also been under scrutiny following the June 2025 crash of Air India flight AI171 in Ahmedabad.

The Boeing 787-8 aircraft, which was en route to London’s Gatwick airport from Ahmedabad, crashed 33 seconds after taking off on June 12, 2025. There were 242 persons aboard the aircraft. One passenger survived with impact injuries. Nineteen persons were killed on the ground after the aircraft crashed into the hostel building of the BJ Medical College and Hospital in Ahmedabad.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, which is investigating the crash, found in its preliminary report in July 2025, that moments after the aircraft took off, its fuel control switches transitioned from “run” to “cut off” within a second of each other, because of which both engines shut down.

The report said that one of the pilots could be heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he shut down the fuel, in response to which the other pilot said that he did not.

After about 10 seconds, the switches went back to the “run” position, in what appeared to be an attempt by the pilots to regain thrust in the engines. Subsequently, one of the engines progressed to recovery, and deceleration stopped. But deceleration could not be stopped on the second engine.

In a reply filed in the Rajya Sabha, the government said that, as part of continued airworthiness measures, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation directed original equipment manufacturer-level testing of the fuel control switch locking mechanism at Boeing’s facility in Seattle, United States.

“Detailed examination of fuel control switch including structural integrity of fuel control switch detents was carried out and no abnormality was observed,” the government said. “However, further inspection of complete ‘thrust control module’ at [original equipment manufacturer] facility is underway.”

The question in the Rajya Sabha also sought to know whether the pilots’ conduct was among the causes examined for the crash, as reported by international media. It also asked why the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau’s final report had not been released more than a year after the accident.

In its reply, the government said that “all probable causes and contributing factors leading to the accident are being investigated”.

It also added that there has been no delay in the investigation.

“The timeline for a major accident investigation cannot be predicted, as it depends on several factors and is an evolving process involving multiple variables,” the government said.

In July, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau had told the Supreme Court that the probe is expected to be completed within about six weeks and the draft final report may be ready by October.

Written by Tanya Shrivastava. Edited by Nachiket Deuskar.

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