Air India will reinspect fuel control switches across its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet after a pilot reported a possible defect, grounding a plane and intensifying safety checks.
Air India acted quickly after the pilot flagged the issue, grounding the specific Boeing 787-8 aircraft involved. (File Photo)
Air India has announced that it will reinspect the fuel control switches on its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet following a pilot’s report of a potential defect on one aircraft. The move comes just days after a pilot flying from London Heathrow to Bengaluru noticed abnormal behaviour with a fuel control switch on a Boeing 787-8, prompting the airline to ground that plane immediately as a precaution.
The issue has attracted fresh attention because the same component, the fuel control switch, was central to the investigation into last year’s deadly June 12 Dreamliner crash near Ahmedabad, which killed 241 people on board.
Air India acted quickly after the pilot flagged the issue, grounding the specific Boeing 787-8 aircraft involved. In an official statement, the airline said it informed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and engaged Boeing — the original equipment manufacturer — to investigate the concern “on a priority basis.”
“We are aware that one of our pilots has reported a possible defect on the fuel control switch of a Boeing 787-8 aircraft. After receiving this initial information, we have grounded the said aircraft and are involving the OEM to get the pilot’s concerns checked on a priority basis,” the Air India spokesperson said. "The matter has been communicated to the aviation regulator, DGCA. Air India had checked the fuel control switches on all Boeing 787 aircraft in its fleet after a directive from the DGCA, and had found no issues. At Air India, the safety of our passengers and crew remains top priority.”
An Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner was grounded after pilots reported a possible defect in the fuel control switch.
— ANI (@ANI) February 2, 2026
Air India spokesperson said "We are aware that one of our pilots has reported a possible defect on the fuel control switch of a Boeing 787-8 aircraft. After… pic.twitter.com/U2eKS0zEMj
Boeing confirmed it is supporting the airline’s review of the matter.
Fuel control switches on Boeing 787 aircraft are critical components that regulate fuel flow to the engines. They have two key positions: ‘RUN’, which allows normal fuel flow for engine operation, and ‘CUTOFF’, which stops fuel supply. If these switches do not stay locked in the RUN position, they could cut fuel unintentionally, potentially leading to loss of engine power under certain conditions.
In the reported incident, the left engine’s fuel control switch on the 787-8 failed to remain locked in the RUN position during engine start, moving toward CUTOFF on two tries, according to aviation safety experts.
Earlier, Air India had completed precautionary inspections on fuel control switches across its Boeing 787 fleet following directives from the DGCA and found no problems at the time. However, the new pilot report has raised questions about whether further or more detailed checks are needed.
In fact, aviation experts and watchdog groups have pointed out that similar checks in the past might not have picked up rare or intermittent faults, leading to renewed scrutiny of these components.
Last year’s crash of Air India flight AI171, involving a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, has made the fuel control switch a focus of regulatory and industry attention. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau’s preliminary report indicated that both engines lost power after the fuel switches moved from RUN to CUTOFF shortly after takeoff.
During the tragedy, cockpit voice recordings captured one pilot asking the other: “Why did you cut off the fuel?”, with the reply: “I did not do so.” The investigation is ongoing, with a final report expected in the coming months.
Aviation safety advocates have called for greater transparency and rigorous inspection protocols following the latest incident. Some groups are urging regulators and Air India to share detailed findings quickly and consider more exhaustive checks of fuel control switches on all Boeing 787 aircraft operating in India.
Safety Matters Foundation, an aviation safety advocacy group, said the repeated emergence of issues with a critical flight control system on the same aircraft type “demands the highest level of scrutiny.”
