Air India Officials Have Maintained that the Inspections are Precautionary, Aimed at the Highest Safety Standards

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Air India has initiated a second round of inspections on fuel switches across its Boeing 787 fleet. It is aimed to rule out any technical anomalies and reinforce safety protocols. The latest development has once again brought aircraft maintenance and technical reliability into the spotlight for wide-body aircraft operating international routes.


Air India Reinspection 


Air India has ordered a precautionary fleet-wide reinspection of the Fuel Control Switch (FCS) latch on its Boeing 787 aircraft. The step is taken after a pilot flagged a possible defect during operations earlier this week. It prompted the airline to ground one aircraft and escalate the matter to aircraft manufacturer Boeing.


The aircraft, which the airline later grounded, operated flight AI132 from London to Bengaluru and landed at Bengaluru on Monday morning with at least 200 people on board. The issue was highlighted by the pilot in command (PIC) in the aircraft’s logbook.

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According to reports, the pilot of the aircraft reported abnormal behaviour of the LEFT engine fuel control switch on a Boeing 787-8 aircraft, VT-ANX.


Air India Issues Statements


“Following the reported defect involving a Fuel Control Switch on one of our B787 aircraft, Engineering has escalated the matter to Boeing for priority evaluation,” Air India said in an internal communication to pilots operating the B787 fleet.


“In the interim, while we await Boeing’s response, our engineers — out of an abundance of caution — have initiated a precautionary fleet-wide re-inspection of the Fuel Control Switch (FCS) latch to verify normal operations,” the communication said.

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The airline also assured its pilots that no irregularities had been detected so far.


“To date, no adverse findings have been reported on the aircraft for which this re-inspection is completed,” Air India informed its pilots.


“We are in contact with Air India and are supporting their review of this matter,” a Boeing spokesperson said on Monday.

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Closing Note


Air India also urged flight and maintenance crews to report any defects observed during operations. The airline is expected to submit a detailed report to aviation authorities once the inspection process is completed.


Air India had conducted similar inspections following the fatal crash of the Boeing 787-8 aircraft in Ahmedabad, which killed 260 people. Since the accident, the airline has intensified monitoring of critical engine and fuel system components.