“India’s aviation authorities will send a fuel control switch from a Boeing 787 to the United States for further inspection, even though initial checks found no fault,” the government said.
Air India had grounded a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner on 2 February before take-off on a flight from London Heathrow to Bengaluru after one of the pilots reported a possible defect in the fuel control switch.
“The pilot’s report stated that the fuel control switch slips from ‘RUN’ to ‘CUTOFF’ when pushed slightly and does not lock positively in its selected position," the Ministry of Civil Aviation said.
Following the report, Air India conducted tests on the aircraft and across its Boeing 787 fleet in line with recommendations from Boeing, the plane’s manufacturer.
“Upon review of the inspection results and evidence provided, OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) concluded that the Fuel Control Switch was mechanically functioning as designed and considered the unit serviceable,” the ministry statement read.
“The DGCA India, as part of the continued airworthiness of the involved Fuel Control Switch, has directed for their inspection at the OEM facility in the presence of DGCA officers,” it added.
The US inspection comes ahead of the separate final report into the crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that killed 260 people shortly after takeoff on 12 June 2025.
As required by international law, India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) published a preliminary report on 12 July, 2025, one month after the disaster when the plane exploded into flames shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad in western India.
That 15-page document provided that the fuel supply to the jet’s engines was cut off moments before impact, raising questions about possible pilot error.
It did not mention whether turning off the fuel switches could have been caused by a pilot manoeuvre or by any kind of malfunction.
The final report of inquiry into the incident is expected by next June, within a year of the crash.
The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), which has more than 5,000 members, submitted a letter to the aviation ministry earlier this month, suggesting that electrical failure, and not pilot action, could have caused the deadly Air India crash.
