Air India has completed precautionary inspections on all Boeing 787 and 737 aircraft in its fleet and found “no issues” with the locking mechanism of the fuel control switch (FCS), the airline confirmed on Tuesday.AdvertisementThe checks come in the wake of a directive issued by the aviation watchdog, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which had ordered inspections of the FCS locking mechanism on most India-registered Boeing commercial aircraft by July 21.In a statement, the airline also clarified that the process had been initiated proactively even before the DGCA’s deadline. “Voluntary inspections were started on July 12 and completed within the prescribed time limit. The same was communicated to the regulator,” the airline added.Reaffirming its position, Air India asserted that it remains fully committed to passenger and crew safety.The DGCA’s instruction followed global concern after foreign operators of Boeing aircraft undertook voluntary inspections based on a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB). The urgency was triggered by the preliminary findings of the catastrophic crash of Air India flight AI171 on June 12.The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), in its early report, revealed that both engines were starved of fuel due to a sudden and simultaneous shift in the fuel control switches from the “RUN” to “CUTOFF” position just moments after lift-off. This was the first fatal crash involving Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, the company’s latest generation wide-body aircraft, intensifying scrutiny across the global aviation sector.Air India operates a fleet comprising 33 Boeing 787 wide-body aircraft, while its low-cost subsidiary, Air India Express, flies approximately 75 Boeing 737 narrow-body jets. Boeing 737s are also part of the fleets of Akasa Air and SpiceJet. IndiGo, on the other hand, uses both Boeing 787s and 737s under lease agreements from foreign carriers, placing these jets outside the purview of the DGCA’s inspection mandate.
Air India completes Boeing inspections, reports no fuel switch snags
