An Air India pilot on Monday flagged a possible defect with the fuel control switch of a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, and the matter has been reported to aviation watchdog DGCA.
The aircraft operated the flight AI132 from London to Bengaluru, and it landed at Bengaluru on Monday morning, according to sources.
In a statement, the airline said it is aware that one of its 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," the statement said.
Air India also sought to reassure passengers by pointing out that it had recently carried out checks on fuel control switches across its entire Boeing 787 fleet, following a directive from the DGCA. “No issues were found during those inspections,” the spokesperson said.
“At Air India, the safety of our passengers and crew remains top priority,” the spokesperson said, reiterating the airline’s stance.
Air India's Boeing 787-8 has 256 seats.
In a statement, Boeing said it was in contact with Air India and was supporting their review of this matter.
There was no immediate comment from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
The incident assumes significance against the backdrop of concerns in certain quarters about the functioning of the fuel control switch in the ill-fated Air India Dreamliner that crashed in June last year.
In one of the worst aircraft accidents in India, a total of 260 people, including 241 passengers, died after Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft operating flight AI171 to London Gatwick crashed soon after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025.
The aircraft has two fuel control switches, one for each of the two engines. A preliminary investigation report in the Ahmedabad crash revealed that moments after lift-off, both the switches transitioned from ‘run’ to ‘cutoff’ position within a second of each other.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is probing the crash.
In its preliminary report on the crash that was released on July 12 last year, AAIB said the fuel supply to both engines of the plane was cut off within a gap of one second, causing confusion in the cockpit soon after take-off.
"In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cut off. The other pilot responded that he did not do so," it had said.
It did not identify which remarks were made by the flight's captain and which by the first officer.
Seconds later, the switches flipped back to 'run', according to the preliminary report. Both fuel control switches were found in the 'run' position at the crash site, it said.
When fuel control switches are moved from 'cutoff' to 'run' while the aircraft is in flight, each engine's control system automatically manages a relight and thrust recovery sequence of ignition and fuel introduction, the report said.
Currently, Air India has 33 Boeing 787s -- 26 legacy Boeing 787-8s and 7 Boeing 787-9s, including 6 from Vistara and the new one.
In 2025, Boeing delivered 14 Boeing 787s to various airlines, including 12 Boeing 787-9s.