Air India has completed precautionary inspections of the fuel control switch (FCS) locking mechanism on all its Boeing 787 aircraft and reported no issues, an airline official confirmed. The checks were initiated over the weekend by the airline’s engineering team as a preventive measure following safety concerns raised in a recent crash investigation.
Earlier this week, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) directed all airlines operating Boeing 787 and 737 aircraft to inspect the locking system of their fuel switches. This move followed a preliminary report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), which revealed that in last month’s fatal crash involving an Air India Boeing 787-8, the fuel supply to both engines was cut off within a second of each other, leading to chaos in the cockpit and ultimately resulting in the deaths of 260 people.
According to the Air India official, all Boeing 787-8 aircraft in the fleet have also undergone Throttle Control Module (TCM) replacements in line with Boeing’s maintenance protocols, as the FCS is a part of this module. The FCS plays a critical role in regulating the flow of fuel to the engines, and the inspection was aimed at ensuring their secure operation to prevent similar mishaps in the future.
