Air India orders fleet-wide re-inspection of Boeing 787s after incident
What's the story
Air India has ordered a precautionary fleet-wide reinspection of the Fuel Control Switch (FCS) latch on its Boeing 787 aircraft. The decision was taken after a pilot reported a possible defect during operations earlier this week. The incident involved flight AI132 from London to Bengaluru, which landed with over 200 passengers on board.
Incident details
What is the issue with the aircraft
The pilot in command (PIC) reported abnormal behavior of the left engine fuel control switch on a Boeing 787-8 aircraft, VT-ANX. The switch failed to lock in the "RUN" position during engine start attempts, moving toward "CUTOFF." This malfunction could potentially lead to an inadvertent engine shutdown in flight under specific conditions.
Manufacturer notified
Air India initiates precautionary fleet-wide re-inspection
Air India's engineering team escalated the matter to Boeing for priority evaluation. In an internal communication, Manish Uppal, Air India's senior vice president for flight operations, confirmed the initiation of a precautionary re-inspection of the entire Dreamliner fleet. "Our engineers—out of an abundance of caution—have initiated precautionary fleet-wide re-inspection of the Fuel Control Switch (FCS) latch to verify normal operations," he said.
Inspection progress
No adverse findings reported
Uppal also informed pilots that no adverse findings had been reported on the aircraft that underwent re-inspection. He directed crew members to report any defects noticed during operations and ensure all mandatory checks are completed before accepting an aircraft for service. Air India operates 33 Boeing 787 aircraft, including 26 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners and seven Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
Safety concerns
Incident raised concerns about fuel control switch
The latest inspections come amid heightened scrutiny of the aircraft's fuel control system. The functioning of the fuel control switch has been under focus since a fatal crash involving a Boeing 787-8 last June, which killed 260 people. The preliminary investigation report into that accident had pointed to a possible fuel supply cutoff soon after take-off.