UK watchdog seeks Air India explanation after Dreamliner flew from London with possible fuel switch defect

Britain’s aviation authority has asked Air India to explain how the Boeing Dreamliner passenger jet, which was stranded on arrival in India for security checks, took off from London on Sunday, possibly with a faulty fuel switch, a letter said.

The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), in a letter to the airline on Tuesday, warned of the possibility of regulatory action against Air India and its Boeing 787 fleet if the airline does not submit a full response within a week.

In a statement, Air India said it had completed a precautionary re-examination of the switches and found no issues and would “respond to the UK regulator accordingly”.

The CAA said in a statement that a regulator’s “request for details following an aircraft incident is standard process and is consistent with safety assurance procedures”.

Fuel switches were at the center of the crash involving an Air India Dreamliner in Gujarat state last year that killed 260 people and brought increased scrutiny of the airline. The switches regulate the flow of jet fuel into the aircraft’s engines.

Air India said on Monday that it grounded a Boeing Dreamliner after a pilot reported a possible “defect” in the fuel control switch on the plane during landing.

Boeing, which previously said it was cooperating with Air India regarding the incident, did not respond to a request for comment.

UK regulator seeks detailed explanation

India’s civil aviation watchdog later said that during engine start-up in London, the crew observed that the fuel control switch did not remain locked in the ‘run’ position twice, but remained fixed on the third attempt.

The crew decided to continue to India and regulator checks this week found the switches were working fine.

The CAA, however, told Air India that it must submit “a detailed description of all maintenance operations carried out to ensure the continued airworthiness of the aircraft and to support its induction into service for Bengaluru”.

Root cause analysis sought

The UK watchdog is also seeking a “comprehensive root cause analysis” and “preventive action plan” into the incident to prevent a recurrence of similar incidents across Air India’s Boeing 787 fleet, the letter, which has not been made public, said.

Air India said in an internal memo on Wednesday that it had also checked the fuel switches of all Boeing 787s, which Flightradar24 said were 33 in total, and “no issues were found”.