Air India will re-inspect the fuel control switch (FCS) of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet, HT has learnt. This comes a day after an Air India pilot on Monday reported a fuel control switch malfunction on a Boeing 787-8 aircraft after operating a flight from London Heathrow to Bengaluru in Karnataka.
File photo of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft during delivery to Air India (PTI).Air India on Monday grounded the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner after the pilot reported a possible problem with the fuel control switch.
The FCS component was at the center of an investigation into the June 12 fatal crash of a Dreamliner plane in Ahmedabad, Gujarat last year, a tragedy that killed 241 of the 242 passengers on board.
Air India said in a statement that it has informed the regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), about the matter.
“We are aware that one of our pilots has reported a possible malfunction in the fuel control switch on a Boeing 787-8 aircraft. After receiving this initial information, we have grounded the said aircraft and are engaging the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) to investigate the pilot’s concerns on a priority basis.”
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The problem with the fuel switch was reported on Air India flight AI132 from London Heathrow to Bengaluru, which landed in the Karnataka city on Monday morning. More than 200 people were on board, PTI news agency quoted sources as saying.
Fuel switch problemSources cited above said that after landing in Bengaluru on Monday morning, the pilot recorded in the error log book that the left engine fuel switch had slipped from ‘run’ to ‘cut off’ and it was not locking in its position.
‘Run’ and ‘Cut Off’ are used to start or stop the engine respectively.
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The Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s fuel control switches are secure, two-position toggles (run/cutoff) located on the center pedestal behind the throttles that control the engine’s fuel flow, according to information available on the Web. They involve a spring-loaded, V-shaped locking mechanism that pilots must lift before moving the switch, to prevent accidental activation.
This assumes significance in light of the extended investigation into the airline following the June 12 crash. It also adds urgency to release the final report on the crash of AI171, also a 787-8 variant, which went down shortly after take off from Ahmedabad airport.
A preliminary report on the June 12 crash, released a month later by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), found that the fuel control switches — two of them in the Dreamliner cockpit, between the two pilots — were found in the “cutoff” position.
In the cockpit voice recording cited in the AAIB report on the Ahmedabad plane crash, one pilot was heard asking the other why he cut. The other pilot replied that he did not.
