Air India grounds 787 after pilot flags possible fuel‑control switch defect

Air India grounded a Boeing 787‑8 and ordered inspections across its 787 fleet after a pilot reported a possible defect in an engine fuel control switch, the carrier said. The affected aircraft was operating as flight AI132 from London to Bengaluru with registration VT‑ANX, and the incident has revived concerns about fuel‑control mechanisms that figured in a fatal June 2025 crash.

Company officials said the crew observed abnormal behaviour with the left engine fuel control switch during engine start, with the switch failing to remain locked in the RUN position on two attempts and moving towards CUTOFF. In an internal message to Boeing 787 pilots, the airline’s senior vice president for flight operations, Manish Uppal, wrote: “While we await Boeing’s response, our engineers – out of an abundance of caution – have initiated precautionary fleet‑wide re‑inspection of the fuel control switch latch to verify normal operations.”

Air India said it notified India’s civil aviation regulator and involved the aircraft’s manufacturer for a priority review. The carrier reaffirmed that passenger and crew safety remains its top priority and noted that fuel control switches on its Boeing 787s had been checked previously following a regulator directive and no issues were found at that time.

Boeing told investigators it was in contact with Air India and was “supporting their review of this matter.” The manufacturer has not released a technical analysis and regulators have not yet attributed the report to a mechanical defect. Air India has 33 Boeing 787s in its fleet and the carrier paused operations of the individual aircraft while maintenance teams carry out inspections.

The report comes as investigators continue to probe a June 2025 crash of an Air India 787 that killed 244 people. A preliminary probe into that accident found both fuel control switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF within a second of each other shortly after takeoff, leading to engine fuel starvation. That finding has kept attention focused on the design and locking integrity of the fuel control switches on the Dreamliner.

The pilot’s report delayed the London departure by roughly 35 minutes and prompted immediate action on the ground. Engineers are checking the mechanical latch that holds the fuel control switch in the RUN position, and are examining whether any play in the mechanism could allow unintended movement when the switch is nudged or vibrated.

The Federation of Indian Pilots renewed calls for comprehensive checks of electrical and related systems on Boeing 787 aircraft and reiterated demands that the type be grounded until inspections are completed. Regulators have not announced broad grounding orders; the airline’s step to inspect its own fleet was described internally as a precautionary measure taken “out of an abundance of caution.”

At present, there is no confirmed root cause and no indication that findings from the re‑inspections will compel fleetwide grounding. Air India, Boeing and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation are expected to share further technical detail as investigations progress and maintenance teams complete their examinations.