The issue was highlighted by the pilot in command (PIC) in the aircraft’s logbook as soon as the plane returned to Bengaluru on February 2. The plane was subsequently grounded by the airline.

In a written reply in Rajya Sabha on Monday, Minister of State in the Civil Aviation Ministry Murlidhar Mohol said the fuel control switch (FCS) locking mechanism was examined at the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) level in Seattle on the directions of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

“Detailed examination of Fuel Control Switch including structural integrity of Fuel Control Switch detents was carried out and no abnormality was observed. However, further inspection of complete ‘Thrust Control Module’ at OEM facility is underway,” Mohol said.

Mohol’s statement was in response to a query by Congress MP Jebi Mather Hishal on the matter.

According to Safety Matters Foundation, an independent aviation safety education platform, the pilot of the aircraft reported abnormal behaviour of the LEFT engine fuel control switch on a Boeing 787-8 aircraft, VT-ANX. “During engine start, the switch failed to remain locked in the RUN position on two attempts, moving towards CUTOFF — a malfunction that could, under specific conditions, lead to an inadvertent engine shutdown in flight,” the platform said.

Subsequently, Air India ordered a precautionary fleet-wide reinspection of the FCS latch on its Boeing 787 aircraft. The DGCA also sent a team to Boeing’s facility in Seattle to test the FCS panel.

The fuel control switch has been at the centre of the investigation since a deadly crash of an Air India Dreamliner in Ahmedabad killed 260 people last year.

On June 12, 2025, Air India’s Boeing 787-8 aircraft en route to London Gatwick from Ahmedabad crashed into a building soon after take-off, killing 260 people, including 19 people on the ground. Of the 242 people onboard, one passenger survived.

A preliminary report on the June 12 crash released a month later by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) had found that fuel control switches – there are two of them in a Dreamliner cockpit, between the two pilots – were found in the “cutoff” position. The switches are used by the pilots to supply or cut off fuel to the plane’s two engines.

What caused both fuel switches to transition from normal operation to the cutoff position remains the investigation’s central mystery, leaving open possibilities ranging from mechanical failure to human error or electronic malfunction.

Hishal also raised a series of questions pertaining to the AAIB’s pending report on the Ahmedabad plane crash. She sought to know the reasons for the delay in releasing the AAIB’s final report even after a year since the crash and despite the minister’s assurance that the report is in its last stage.

The Congress lawmaker also sought to know if the conduct of the pilot is among the factors that are being examined.

“There is 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 investigation is under progress. All probable causes and contributing factors leading to the accident are being investigated,” Mohol said.

On July 14, the Centre informed the Supreme Court that the AAIB is expected to complete its probe within six weeks, with “a draft final report” ready by October.

In February, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that the Indian investigators are preparing to state in the final report that the place crashed because one of the pilots turned off the aircraft’s fuel switches in an “almost certainly” intentional act.