(Image source from: Nationalheraldindia.com)

Air India has begun checking the fuel control switches in its Boeing 787 jets after a malfunction was reported in one of the planes that flew from London Heathrow to Bengaluru on Sunday, as per sources who informed PTI. Manish Uppal, the Senior Vice President for Flight Operations at Air India, notified Boeing 787 pilots that the airline is conducting a thorough re-inspection of the fuel control switches across its entire fleet, according to these sources. Uppal mentioned that the engineering team has brought the issue to Boeing's attention for urgent review. "In the meantime, while we wait for Boeing's feedback, our engineers have decided, for safety reasons, to carry out a precautionary fleet-wide check of the Fuel Control Switch latch to ensure everything is functioning properly," he stated in an email on Tuesday. An Air India Boeing 787-8 jet set to fly a London-Bengaluru route on Monday was grounded after the pilot identified a potential problem with the fuel control switch, according to a statement from the airline.

The plane was supposed to operate flight AI 132 from London to Bengaluru when the concern was raised during the pre-flight checks. Following this alert, Air India promptly removed the plane from service as a precaution. At present, Air India has a total of 33 Boeing 787s, also known as Dreamliners. In the email sent to Boeing 787 pilots, Uppal also stated that no concerning issues have been found in the aircraft that had its re-inspection completed. Moreover, Air India has instructed its crew to quickly report any issues noticed during operations and to make sure that all necessary actions are taken before the aircraft is accepted. Last year, Air India inspected the fuel control switches after the tragic crash of a Boeing 787-8 in Ahmedabad that resulted in the loss of 260 lives. An Air India pilot reported a problem with the fuel control switch of a Boeing 787-8 on Monday after returning from the flight from London Heathrow to Bengaluru, leading the airline to ground the jet for inspections.

The flight that departed from London Heathrow on Sunday arrived in Bengaluru on Monday morning. The operation of the fuel control switch has gained attention after the crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8 in June, which claimed 260 lives, as initial investigation findings indicated that fuel flow was interrupted shortly after takeoff. Currently, Air India operates 33 Boeing 787 jets, which include 26 older Boeing 787-8s and 7 Boeing 787-9s, consisting of 6 from Vistara and a custom-designed aircraft that joined the fleet in January.