Air India finds no issue with Boeing fuel switch after grounding

NEW DELHI: Air India has completed inspections of fuel control switches on its 33 Boeing 787 jets, the private carrier said Wednesday, days after grounding a flight over a possible defect.

The airline grounded a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner on Monday after one of the pilots reported a possible defect in the fuel control switch.

But in its inspections, the airline said “no issues were identified”.

The checks came as Indian authorities investigate the crash last year of a 787 Dreamliner operated by Air India that killed 260 people shortly after takeoff.

Air India said in a statement on Wednesday that the national civil aviation regulator had conducted “independent inspections” of its own into the fuel control switch, “subsequently clearing” it.

“The safety of our passengers and crew remains Air India’s highest priority,” said the carrier, which is owned by the Tata Group conglomerate.

READ MORE: Indian regulator says grounded Air India plane’s fuel switches passed checks

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation said on Tuesday that incorrect handling of the fuel switch, which regulates fuel into the plane’s engines, had caused the issue in Monday’s flight, and not a mechanical fault.

It advised the airline to reinforce crew training on Boeing’s recommended procedures.

Last year, a London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner operated by Air India crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad in June, killing all but one of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground.

An inspection of the locking feature on the fuel control switches of the aircraft after the crash found no issues.

A preliminary report by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said fuel supply to the jet’s engines was cut off moments before impact, raising questions about possible pilot error.

Two major Indian commercial pilots’ associations, as well as the father of one of the dead pilots, have rejected suggestions that human error caused the crash.

Indian authorities have yet to release a final report into the crash.