In Shorts
- Air India grounded a Boeing 787 aircraft after a fuel control switch behaved abnormally.
- The incident happened on a London Heathrow to Bengaluru flight and triggered an immediate inspection.
- The airline is working with Boeing and India’s aviation regulator to investigate the issue.
Air India has taken a Boeing 787 Dreamliner out of service after pilots reported an issue with a fuel control switch on board a flight from London Heathrow to Bengaluru. The aircraft, registered VT-ANX and operating flight AI132, was grounded on landing as a precautionary action while the airline investigates the reported defect.
According to sources, the flight crew identified irregular behavior with the left engine’s fuel control switch during engine start before departure. The switch — designed to stay locked in the “RUN” position unless manually changed — reportedly failed to remain secure and moved toward “CUTOFF” during checks. After landing in Bengaluru, the airline removed the jet from scheduled service to allow for further review.
A spokesperson for Air India confirmed the decision to ground the aircraft and said the company has briefed Boeing, the original equipment manufacturer, about the situation. The issue has also been communicated to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India’s aviation regulator, which is expected to monitor subsequent steps.
Fuel control switches play a crucial role in managing the flow of fuel to an aircraft’s engines. They are normally set to “RUN” for flight and only shifted to “CUTOFF” when engines are intentionally shut down on the ground. Any uncommanded movement toward cutoff has serious implications, which is why the airline acted quickly to take the aircraft offline.
The decision to ground the 787 comes amid continued safety focus on similar components following last year’s crash of an Air India Boeing 787 near Ahmedabad, which claimed 260 lives. A preliminary investigation into that tragedy highlighted unusual fuel switch movements shortly after takeoff that led to both engines losing thrust. While that probe did not assign a definitive cause, it prompted enhanced inspections across the airline’s Dreamliner fleet.
Air India had previously completed precautionary inspections of fuel control switch mechanisms on all its Boeing 787 jets following directives from the DGCA, with no irregularities found at the time. The current development will now be assessed alongside feedback from Boeing engineers and regulators to ensure continued operational safety.
The airline emphasized that passenger and crew safety remains its top priority, and it will update the public once the investigation concludes.
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