Air India begins inspection of fuel control switches of its Boeing 787 fleet, no glitches found so far

According to sources, Inspections of half the fleet have been completed with no glitches found so far. However, inspections of the remaining aircraft are still ongoing.

It further mentioned that the airline has escalated the matter to Boeing for a priority evaluation. Sources also stated that no adverse findings have been reported so far during the precautionary fleet-wide re-inspection of the Fuel Control Switches (FCS).

Earlier, an Air India Boeing 787-8 aircraft was grounded after a pilot reported a possible defect in the fuel control switch.

According to an Air India spokesperson, the matter was later communicated to DGCA, the country's aviation regulator.

The spokesperson said the airline is engaging the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) to prioritise addressing the pilot's concerns.

"We are aware that one of our pilots has reported a possible defect on the fuel control switch of a Boeing 787-8 aircraft. After receiving this initial information, we have grounded the said aircraft and are involving the OEM to get the pilot's concerns checked on a priority basis. The matter has been communicated to the aviation regulator, DGCA. Air India had checked the fuel control switches on all Boeing 787 aircraft in its fleet after a directive from the DGCA, and had found no issues. At Air India, the safety of our passengers and crew remains top priority," the spokesperson said.

Following the incident, Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) President Captain CS Randhawa on Monday urged the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) to immediately investigate possible electrical faults in Boeing 787 aircraft, citing repeated incidents involving uncommanded movement of fuel control switches.

Captain Randhawa said this was the third known incident in which uncommanded movement of fuel control switches had been recorded on a Boeing 787 aircraft.

Speaking to ANI, Captain CS Randhawa said, "The first incident on the Boeing 787-800 aircraft took place on 17 February 2019 at Osaka on an ANA flight, which was landing at Osaka, where both fuel control switches on touchdown, when the throttles were brought to idle position, both these switches went to cutoff position automatically due to an electrical malfunction of the TCMA. We have been relating the same theory for the Air India 171 crash on 12th June at Ahmedabad. This is the third incident where there has been an uncommanded movement of the fuel control switches on the Boeing 787 aircraft." (ANI)