Air India Checks Fuel Switches On Dreamliners, Says No Issues Found

Air India on Wednesday said it has completed the precautionary inspection of fuel control switches across its operational Boeing 787 fleet, and no issues were identified during the checks. 

The inspection was done after the incident of a switch malfunctioning in an aircraft that operated a flight from London Heathrow to Bengaluru on Sunday.

At present, Air India has 33 Boeing 787s or Dreamliners, and 28 are operational.

In a statement, the airline said it has completed precautionary re-inspections of the Fuel Control Switch (FCS) across all operational Boeing 787 aircraft in its fleet.

"No issues were identified during these checks. The inspections were undertaken in an abundance of caution following an observation reported by one of our pilots.

"We acknowledge the regulator's proactive oversight in conducting independent inspections and subsequently clearing the FCS," it said.

An Air India pilot on Monday reported a defect with the fuel control switch of a Boeing 787-8 plane after operating the flight from London Heathrow to Bengaluru, and the airline grounded the aircraft for checks.

The flight that took off from London Heathrow on Sunday with over 200 people on board landed in Bengaluru on Monday morning.

Air India on Wednesday also said that it would fully adhere to the regulator's guidance to circulate OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) recommended operating procedures for the operation of the FCS to all crew members.

On Tuesday, aviation regulator DGCA's initial examination of the fuel control switch issue in the plane found that "apparently correct procedure" was not followed in operating the switch, and the airline has been asked to ensure that the crew follows the right procedures.

The functioning of the fuel control switch is in focus following the crash of Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft that killed 260 people last June, as the preliminary probe report mentioned that fuel supply was cut off soon after take-off. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)