The two fuel control switches on a 787, in Air India's case equipped with two GE engines, are located below the thrust levers. The switches are spring-loaded to remain in position. To change one from run to cutoff, a pilot has to first pull the switch up and then move it from run to cutoff or vice versa.

A focus on the fuel switches in a preliminary assessment raised questions about the pilots’ actions, but much is still unknown about Flight 171.

NEW DELHI - A preliminary report depicted confusion in the cockpit shortly before an Air India jetliner crashed, killing 260 people last month, after the plane's engine fuel cutoff switches almost simultaneously flipped,