Etihad Airways has issued pilots with fresh guidance after a preliminary report into the Air India disaster shone a light on the actions of pilots. The directive urges pilots to “exercise caution” with fuel switches on the Boeing 787 aircraft after voice recordings from the cockpit showed a discussion over why fuel switches had been switched from the ‘RUN’ to the ‘CUTOFF’ positions shortly after take-off.

Other airlines are planning similar measures according to Reuters to limit the scope for confusion between aviators and potential for accidents. Etihad told pilots: “To exercise caution when operating the fuel control switches or any other switches/control in their vicinity”. They stressed that the measure was taken “out of an abundance of caution”.

A notification to Civil Aviation Authorities said: “Although the fuel control switch design, including the locking feature, is similar on various Boeing airplane models, the FAA does not consider this issue to be an unsafe condition that would warrant an Airworthiness Directive on any Boeing airplane models, including the Model 787.”

“The FAA will continue to share relevant information with foreign civil aviation authorities as appropriate.”

Air India Flight 171 was scheduled to fly from Ahmedabad in India to London’s Gatwick Airport but crashed shortly after take-off killing all but one on board and dozens of people on the ground.

A preliminary report found the cockpit voice recording captured one of the pilots asking the other “why did he cut off?”.

It continues: “The other pilot responded that he did not do so.”

The report does not say which pilot made which statement.

According to the report, one engine was in the process of regaining thrust when the aircraft crashed. The other was relit but wasn’t getting thrust back yet.

The report doesn’t offer any conclusions as to how the switches came to be moved.

The report says: “At this stage of investigation, there are no recommended actions to B787-8 and/or GE GEnx-1B engine operators and manufacturers, suggesting that no significant fault has been found with the plane or its engines.”

A full report is expected to be produced over the course of the next year and released in 2026.