Air India on Monday grounded a Boeing 787-8 after a pilot reported a possible defect with the plane’s fuel control switch.
“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 aircraft and are involving the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to get the pilot’s concerns checked on a priority basis,” an Air India spokesperson said.
Sources said the aircraft operated the flight AI132 from London to Bengaluru and landed at the Bengaluru airport with more than 200 people on board.
It could not be immediately ascertained at what stage of the flight the pilot noticed the possible malfunctioning of the switch.
The functioning of the fuel control switch came into focus after the crash of Air India’s Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner in Ahmedabad that killed 260 people in June last year. A preliminary probe report had said that the fuel control switch transitioned from “run” to “cutoff’ position soon after the plane took off. The report also mentioned confusion among the pilots about who did it.
The Air India spokesperson said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had been informed about the latest development.
“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 spokesperson said, adding that the safety of passengers and crew remained top priority.
The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) on Monday reiterated its demand that all B-787s be grounded and their electrical systems checked. “We have also gone on record in media and written mails and letters to the ministry of civil aviation and the DGCA that the fuel control switch must have moved automatically due to an electrical malfunction,” the FIP said.
It recalled a 2019 incident where a Boeing 787-8 belonging to All Nippon Airways experienced a dual-engine shutdown upon landing at Osaka Itami Airport.