India, July 15 -- India's civil aviation regulator on Monday ordered airlines to inspect the locking mechanism of fuel switches on all Boeing 787 and 737 jets by July 21, two days after a preliminary report into the Air India flight 171 crash identified fuel being cut off to both engines shortly after takeoff as the cause of the disaster that killed 260 people.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's (AAIB) preliminary report, released in the early hours of Saturday, said the fuel control switches were found in the "cutoff" position, triggering a global debate over whether pilot action or mechanical failure caused India's worst single-aircraft aviation disaster.

"All air operators of the affected aircraft are hereby advised to comp...