Indian Airlines has announced the start of preventive inspections of the fuel control switches on all 33 Boeing 787 Dreamliners. This comes after the aircraft was grounded after a pilot reported that one of its switches may be defective.
An internal memo seen by Agence France-Presse yesterday (Tuesday) said the decision was taken “out of an abundance of caution” after a pilot reported during a flight from London’s Heathrow Airport to Bangalore in southern India that the fuel control switch would not stabilize in the on position when subjected to slight vertical pressure and could move unintentionally to the fuel cut-off position.
Indian authorities sought to stop the plane in question, with registration number VT-ANX, shortly after it safely landed in Bangalore on Monday, and Indian regulators and Boeing were immediately notified.
The company’s maintenance teams began performing Boeing-recommended inspections on parked aircraft, and the process was expanded to include all aircraft.
The case is particularly important because the fuel control switch was the focus of the investigation into the June 2025 crash of an Air India Boeing 787 in Ahmedabad that claimed 260 lives.
Initial investigation into the accident revealed that shortly after takeoff, the fuel switch moved from the “RUN” position to the “CUTOFF” position, shutting down both of the plane’s engines.
Following the incident, the Civil Aviation Authority of India ordered fuel control switches on all Boeing 787s and 737s in India’s fleet to be inspected, and Indian Airlines confirmed that these inspections were completed without detecting any issues.
In the latest incident, the Civil Aviation Authority of India announced that a technical examination of the left and right switches on the grounded aircraft showed that they were “proper” when used in accordance with Boeing’s recommended procedures, and that unwanted shifts occurred only when pressed incorrectly or at an inappropriate angle.
