Apparent gaps in AAIB’s preliminary report means that while a key factor in the disaster—cutting of the fuel supply—has been confirmed, not much else has. FAA’s insistence that the accident does not change its evaluation of the fuel switch problems counters the only switch-related technical issue discussed in the report.

The report and India’s inspection order referred to an advisory from the Federal Aviation Administration in 2018 that recommended that carriers using Boeing models, including the 787, inspect the locking mechanism of the fuel control switches to ensure they could not be moved accidentally.

Last month, 260 people were killed when Air India’s Flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8, crashed on its way to London Gatwick due to failed engine fuel control switches. The flight crashed on June 12 shortly after taking off, killing 241 out of the 242 people on board, along with 19 people on the ground.