No abnormality in fuel switch of Air India’s Boeing 787 grounded in February, Centre tells Parliament

The Union government has informed Parliament that inspections had found “no abnormality” in the fuel control switch of an Air India Boeing 787 aircraft that was grounded earlier this year after a pilot reported a suspected malfunction before operating a London-Bengaluru flight.

“Detailed examination of the fuel control switch, including structural integrity of the fuel control switch detents was carried out, and no abnormality was observed,” Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol told the Rajya Sabha earlier this week, referring to inspections conducted at the original equipment manufacturer’s (OEM) facility in Seattle, U.S.

Further examination of the complete “thrust control module”, which houses the fuel control switches, was still underway at Boeing’s facility, Mr. Mohol said.

The government’s response has assumed significance because fuel control switches are at the centre of the preliminary investigation into the AI 171 crash in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025 in which 260 people were killed.

The preliminary report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said the ill-fated Air India flight AI 171’s two fuel control switches transitioned from ‘RUN’ to ‘CUTOFF’, interrupting fuel supply to both engines and causing them to lose power. The report did not establish whether the movement of the switches was inadvertent or deliberate. The AAIB’s final report is expected between mid-September and the end of October this year.

The reply in Parliament pertains to Air India flight AI 132 from London to Bengaluru on February 1, 2026. Before departure, the pilot had reported that the left engine’s fuel control switch on the aircraft did not remain positively latched in the ‘RUN’ position when pressure was applied. The switch latched correctly on a subsequent attempt, according to the government, following which the flight departed for Bengaluru. Air India subsequently grounded the aircraft for detailed inspections.

The U.K.’s aviation safety regulator later sought information from Air India on the maintenance carried out on the fuel control switch before the aircraft was cleared for the flight from London.