Air India grounds Boeing 787 Dreamliner after pilot flags fuel control switch issue

Air India on Monday grounded a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner operating on the London–Bengaluru route after one of its pilots reported a possible defect in the aircraft’s fuel control switch. The airline said the matter is being examined on priority, with Boeing and the aircraft’s original equipment manufacturer involved in the process.

OEM and Boeing Involved

The airline confirmed that the matter has been flagged to Boeing, and the aircraft’s original equipment manufacturer has been engaged to examine the reported issue thoroughly. The inspection is being carried out on a priority basis to assess whether there is any technical fault in the fuel control switch.

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.

DGCA Informed, Fleet Checks Conducted

Air India also informed the aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), about the development. In its statement, the airline said that following an earlier DGCA directive, fuel control switches across all Boeing 787 aircraft in its fleet had already been inspected.

The airline added that no issues were detected during those fleet-wide checks.

The development assumes significance against the backdrop of concerns in some quarters about the performance of the fuel control switch in the Air India Dreamliner that crashed in June last year.