Air India Re-inspects Fuel Switches On Boeing 787s After Reported Defect

Air India has launched a precautionary re-inspection of fuel control switches on its Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft following a reported defect on one plane. 

The airline's Senior Vice President for Flight Operations, Manish Uppal, has written a letter to all Boeing 787 pilots, detailing the airline's response to the incident. 

"Following the reported defect involving a Fuel Control Switch on one of our B787 aircraft, Engineering has escalated the matter to Boeing for priority evaluation," he wrote. "In the interim, while we await Boeing's response, our engineers, out of abundance of caution, have initiated precautionary fleet-wide re-inspection of the Fuel Control Switch (FCS) latch to verify normal operations. To date, no adverse findings have been reported on the aircraft for which this re-inspection is completed."

"We would also like to remind all crew to promptly report any defects observed during operations and to ensure that all required actions are completed prior to accepting the aircraft," he added. 

Air India sources confirmed that the inspection process is half complete across the fleet, with no glitches identified so far on the aircraft checked.

The letter follows an incident involving flight AI132, operated by a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner (registration VT-ANX), from London Heathrow to Bengaluru. T

The aircraft was grounded after a pilot reported that the left engine's fuel control switch failed to remain in the "RUN" position during engine start-up, moving to "CUTOFF" on two occasions.

The aircraft has been withdrawn from service.

An Air India spokesperson confirmed the grounding and stated that the original equipment manufacturer -- Boeing -- was involved on a priority basis to assess the pilot's concerns. 

The matter was reported to aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). "We are in contact with Air India and are supporting their review of this matter," Boeing said in a statement.

The airline noted that it had previously inspected fuel control switches across its Boeing 787 fleet following a DGCA directive and found no issues. "At Air India, safety of our passengers and crew remains top priority," the spokesperson said.

Fuel control switches regulate fuel flow to an aircraft's engines.