Air India has begun fleet-wide inspections of Boeing 787 fuel control switches after grounding one aircraft over a possible defect, following last year’s fatal crash.
NEW DELHI: Air India has begun inspecting fuel control switches on its 33 Boeing 787 aircraft.
The move follows the grounding of a 787-8 Dreamliner on Monday after a pilot reported a possible defect.
An internal company note seen by AFP on Tuesday confirmed the precautionary fleet-wide re-inspection.
“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,” the note stated.
A source close to the company said fresh inspections of several planes had been completed with no adverse findings.
Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The checks come as Indian authorities continue to probe the crash of an Air India 787 last June.
The London-bound flight crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad, killing 261 people.
A preliminary report by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said fuel supply to the jet’s engines was cut off moments before impact.
According to the AAIB, one pilot was heard asking the other why fuel had been cut off, to which the second pilot replied that he had not done so.
An inspection of the locking feature on the fuel control switches of the crashed aircraft found no issues.
Two major Indian pilots’ associations and the father of one deceased pilot have rejected suggestions that human error caused the crash.
Indian authorities have yet to release a final report into the accident.
