India to monitor Boeing fuel-switch tests in Seattle after Air India scare

Indian aviation regulators are moving to put their own eyes on Boeing’s testing in Seattle, a sign that confidence in the Air India 787 inquiry remains under strain after one of the country’s deadliest aviation disasters. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation wants a DGCA officer present when Boeing strips and tests the fuel-control switch panel removed from an Air India Dreamliner in February, turning a technical examination into a test of oversight, accountability and trust.

The panel was taken off an Air India Boeing 787 after pilots on Flight AI132 from London Heathrow to Bengaluru reported a possible defect during engine start. DGCA said the left-engine fuel-control switch did not remain latched in RUN twice before locking properly on the third attempt, but that no abnormal engine parameters, cautions, warnings or related system messages were observed afterward. Air India said it launched a precautionary fleet-wide reinspection of the fuel-control-switch latch across its 33 Boeing 787 aircraft, underscoring how quickly one component became a broader safety issue for the carrier.

The stakes are higher because the same switch design sits at the center of the investigation into Air India Flight AI171, the Boeing 787-8 that crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025, while bound for London Gatwick. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau’s preliminary report said both fuel-control switches moved from RUN to CUTOFF within seconds of liftoff, cutting fuel to the engines. The report said its purpose was prevention, not apportioning blame or liability, but the finding has kept attention fixed on whether the switch locking mechanism worked as intended.

That scrutiny widened when the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch said on July 12, 2025, that it was reviewing the preliminary report and remained in communication with AAIB India. A 2018 FAA Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin had already warned of possible disengagement of the fuel-control-switch locking feature on several Boeing models, including the 787, making the Seattle testing part of a longer-running regulatory question rather than an isolated maintenance check.

Boeing had privately told Air India in February that the module containing the switches was serviceable, and DGCA had previously said the switches passed checks. Air India later described the additional testing as a precaution to ensure a thorough and conclusive evaluation. For Indian regulators, direct observation in Seattle signals a simple message: after the Ahmedabad crash and the February cockpit scare, aviation safety questions around the 787 will not be left to the manufacturer alone.