UAE-based Etihad Airlines has issued an order asking for the examination of the fuel switch in all Boeing 787 planes in its fleet. As per reports, the order asks for ‘exercising caution’ while operating fuel control switches in aircraft. Additionally, the airline has asked for an examination of the locking mechanism in those switches in all its Boeing 787 planes.
Breaking – Amid Air India crash probe, Boeing insists its fuel switch locks are safe ( despite a 2018 FAA advisory to the contrary) – giving itself a clean chit, but at least one airline is taking no chances. Here is documentation showing #etihad has begun double checking the… pic.twitter.com/23simzyveP
— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) July 14, 2025
The development has come amid the news that fuel control switches in the crashed Air India flight 171 were found to be in the CUTOFF position moments before the plane went down last month.
India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has released its preliminary findings of the AI 171 flight crash investigation in a 15-page report. The report stated that fuel control switches, critical components that regulate engine power, were found to have moved from the “RUN” to the “CUTOFF” position moments before the aircraft went down.
A 2018 advisory by the Federal Aviation Administration in the USA has also been in focus amid all the discussion regarding the Air India crash. The 2018 Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) issued by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), had flagged the “potential disengagement of the fuel control switch locking feature” on certain Boeing aircraft.
