Just four weeks before the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed after takeoff from Ahmedabad, the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had raised concerns about a possible fuel switch issue in Boeing aircraft. The regulator had warned airlines to inspect fuel control systems, including on the Boeing 787 model used by Air India.

On May 15, the UK aviation regulator issued a safety notice asking airline operators to check if their Boeing aircraft were affected by a US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airworthiness Directive (AD). This AD had flagged fuel shutoff valve actuators as a possible safety problem. These valves are very important—they stop fuel from reaching the engine when needed, such as during an emergency or maintenance. If the valves fail, they could cause engine shutdown or even a crash.

"The FAA has issued an Airworthiness Directive (AD) addressing a potentially unsafe condition affecting fuel shutoff valves installed on the following Boeing aircraft: B737, B757, B767, B777, and B787," the CAA said in its notice.

The CAA told operators to test, inspect, or replace the fuel shutoff valve actuators on these planes. It also asked for daily checks on aircraft affected by this issue.

Now, in its preliminary report, India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has said that in the case of the Air India crash, fuel control switches suddenly moved to “CUTOFF” just after the plane took off. This caused both engines to stop working mid-air, which led to the crash.

While the FAA later said on July 11 that the fuel control switch design does not pose any safety risks, and Boeing also supported this view, the UK had already taken stricter steps in May.

According to reports, Air India had replaced the Throttle Control Module (TCM)—which houses the fuel control switches—in 2019 and 2023, as part of regular maintenance. However, the AAIB report also noted that Air India did not inspect the locking mechanism of these switches, which had been recommended by the FAA in 2018. Air India said that because the 2018 advisory was not mandatory, they didn’t follow it.

Meanwhile, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson told staff not to jump to conclusions. He said the early report "identified no cause nor made any recommendations" and asked everyone to wait for the full investigation before blaming anyone.

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