UK seeks explanation from Air India over Boeing 787 Dreamliner fuel switch incident

The aircraft was grounded on February 2 for inspections.

What did the UK aviation regulator say?

The UK aviation regulator has sent a letter to Air India seeking a detailed account of all maintenance actions, a root-cause analysis of the incident and a preventive plan to stop such incidents in the future, as per Reuters.

However, the letter issued by the CAA has not been made public.

DGCA asks the airline to ensure crew follows right procedure

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has on Thursday said that during engine start in London, the fuel switch did not stay in the ‘run’ position twice and it worked normally in the third attempt. Initial checks showed that the switches were functioning normally.

DGCA added that ‘apparently correct procedure’ was not followed and asked Air India to ensure crews strictly follow operating procedures. The airline has been asked to ensure that the crew follows the right procedures, PTI reported.

Air India spokesperson says no issues were reported during checks

About the incident, an Air India spokesperson said the airline completed precautionary re-inspections of the Fuel Control Switch (FCS) across all operational Boeing 787 aircraft in its fleet and that no issues were identified during these checks.

“Air India will respond to the UK regulator accordingly,” the spokesperson said, as per PTI.

A source on Tuesday had said the DGCA is likely to look at various aspects related to the incident, including whether the aircraft VT-ANX could have been grounded at London Heathrow itself rather than operating the flight to Bengaluru, a PTI report stated.