Air India Boosts Safety Checks on Dreamliner Fuel Switches

Air India is conducting checks on the fuel switches of its Boeing Dreamliner aircrafts following a reported defect. No issues have been found requiring fleet grounding. The engineering team, escalating the concern to Boeing, seeks priority evaluation, recalling past scrutiny due to a related crash.

Air India has initiated inspections of the fuel switches on its Boeing Dreamliner jets after a pilot reported a potential defect, according to an internal memo obtained by Reuters. The checks have yet to uncover any faults, and there is no need to ground the fleet, a source confirmed.

Following the report of a possible switch defect, Air India's engineering team has raised the issue for prompt evaluation by Boeing. Manish Uppal, head of flight operations, mentioned in an email that Boeing is assisting in the review. As of now, Air India declined to comment further.

Fuel switches have previously been scrutinized due to their involvement in a crash last year of an Air India Dreamliner, resulting in 260 fatalities. They play a crucial role in managing the jet fuel flow into the plane's engines, utilized for both engine startup and shutdown procedures.

(With inputs from agencies.)