Air India has ordered that all of its Boeing 787s be checked, as a precaution, for the fuel control switches after a pilot reported a possible problem with a lock on a recent flight overseas. The Dreamliner in question was kept on the ground once it got to Bengaluru, and the company is waiting for Boeing to give it some technical advice while it goes over the locking parts on all of the 787 planes it owns.
What Started the Checks
This came about because of flight AI132 – which left London Heathrow and arrived at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru carrying over 200 passengers. After the engine was started in London, the flight crew noticed the left fuel control switch didn’t look like it was staying firmly locked in the ‘on’ position.
A report from the aviation authority said that the crew saw the switch move a little when they gently pushed down on it when they first tried. But, on the third try, it locked as it should and stayed that way. The crew made sure the lock was in the right place before going on with the checklist, and they watched the engine readouts very closely for the rest of the flight.
During the flight, there were no strange readings from the engine, or warnings, or alerts, and the Dreamliner finished the trip without trouble. Once it had landed, the plane was kept on the ground and looked at. Air India then made the checks bigger, so they covered the whole 787 fleet, just to be on the safe side.
The airline told pilots that the program of checks is to make sure the lock works as it should, and does not mean there is a general fault. Early results from the checks that have been done so far have not shown any bad results, according to what people inside the company have been told.
Why Fuel Control Switches Are Important
Fuel control switches are very important for managing the engines. They control the move between ‘on’ and ‘off’ – and so affect both starting and stopping the engines. As they are within easy reach on the panel, any move they do that isn’t meant, or incorrect use, can cause problems with how the plane is flown, especially during busy times.
Air India has been very careful about the reliability of the fuel system since people looking into a problem in Ahmedabad previously pointed to fuel control moves. Although this check is not directly linked to that event, the history has made the airline more aware of any strange things to do with fuel control parts.
In this case, the behaviour that was reported was that the left switch did not seem to be locking properly. The description said that a small push could move the switch from ‘on’ to ‘off’ – causing questions about the shape of the lock, how much force it takes to move it, and how well the switch can take pressure from the side.
What the Authorities and the Company Making the Planes Are Doing
The aviation authority in India has started a first look at what happened and stressed the need to follow the correct ways of operating. The authority has asked the airline to make sure pilots know what the company making the planes recommends for using the fuel cut off switch, and will look at whether the plane should have been kept in London while it was being repaired.
Air India has sent the switch part from the plane that was involved – which is VT-ANX – to the original company that made it, so it can be tested on a bench. The part has about 3,440 hours of use, which is well below its 20,000-hour life, a piece of data that will help the engineers work out whether the behaviour is because of wear, a build-up of small errors, or how it was used.
Boeing is helping with the technical assessment. Its advice includes measuring how much force is needed to unlock it, and making sure the locking tooth and pawl sit properly. What is found will decide whether wider actions – such as a service notice, advice on training, or changing the part – are needed.
What Engineers Found During On‑Aircraft Checks
Air India’s engineers checked the fuel control switches – both on the left and on the right – of the plane that wasn’t flying. They said the part that locks the switch went all the way in, and didn’t go from ‘on’ to ‘off’ when they pushed on it the way it should be pushed; this was what they’d expect to happen.
However, the switch was easier to move if they pushed on it the wrong way, because of the angle of the plate it sat on. This means pressure that wasn’t a straight pull to unlock – like pushing down on it – could get around the resistance it was meant to have, and make the switch move.
What the engineers found fits with what the maker of the switch says you should do: use the right way and the right technique. Crews have been told not to touch the switches during flights if they don’t need to, to be sure it clicks into place when the engines start, and to check the readings if they think something might be wrong.
Scope of the Fleet‑Wide Inspection
Air India has 33 Boeing 787s – 26 787‑8s and 7 787‑9s. The airline has ordered a second check of the fuel control switch locking part on all the Dreamliners that are in service. About half of the planes have been checked so far, and nothing has been found wrong.
The airline does not expect this to cause many problems with flight times. The checks are done when the planes are on the ground, and any parts that need closer looking at will be swapped out. By acting quickly, before any official orders are given, the airline wants to make sure both passengers and the people who make sure planes are safe know that safety is the most important thing.
The airline is also going over the usual ways to work the fuel switches, and how to hold your hands – the way you’re supposed to. The talks make sure people check the ‘on’ position when the engines start, hold their hands correctly, and do things in a way that doesn’t put the wrong kind of pressure on the switch.
Operational and Safety Implications
From the point of view of how things work, this shows how the design of the switch, how the crew use it, and how people act all come into it. How hard you have to push to lock it, the shape of the click-in point, and the angle of the plate it sits on all affect how it feels when you push it. Always using the correct way, as in the instructions, helps to make sure even small things you do don’t cause the switch to move when you don’t want it to.
The people who make the rules, and the people who make the planes, may use what the engineers found to make the instructions better, or add marks to the controls. If tests by the engineers show that the switch is sensitive, they may add something to make sure it lines up, or add a guard. Until that happens, using the correct pull-to-unlock motion is the most important thing.
For passengers, this shows how the plane industry manages risk. Modern planes are made with lots of safety features, and airlines have strict rules for anything that isn’t normal. Taking a plane out of service after it lands, checking all the planes of that type, and giving the data to the maker of the plane are all normal steps in a 'safety first‘ approach.
What Comes Next
What Boeing thinks about the part that was taken off the plane, and what the people who make the rules think, will decide what happens next. This could be nothing more than going over the instructions again, a notice saying how to check or adjust the switch, or changing the part if it’s found that the design is too sensitive.
Because Air India has already started checking the planes, the airline will be able to act quickly, whichever way the people who make the rules and the maker of the plane say. For now, the airline will go on checking the other Dreamliners, record how hard the switch locks if needed, and write down what they find, to get a good idea of what’s going on.
How the airline has dealt with this shows what’s happening in the plane industry – acting quickly, and using data to decide what to do. As more and more airlines use the same planes – like the 787 – it’s important to find out quickly how the design of the switch and how people use it work together, to keep planes safe and able to fly.
