India says no ‘abnormality’ found in Boeing 787 fuel switch

The Indian government said Wednesday that a detailed examination of the fuel control switch on an Air India Boeing 787 had found no “abnormality.”

Pilots operating Air India flight AI-132 from London Heathrow to Bengaluru flagged a possible issue with the system in February this year.

“Detailed examination of fuel control switch including structural integrity of Fuel Control Switch detents was carried out and no abnormality was observed,” India’s Civil Aviation Ministry said in a written reply to a question in parliament.

It added, however, that further “inspection of its complete thrust control module” at a Boeing facility was underway.

An Air India pilot reported a possible defect in the fuel control switch of the Boeing 787-8 aircraft in February. The airline subsequently grounded the aircraft for inspections.

In response to another question, the ministry said there had been no delay in the investigation into last year’s Air India plane crash in western India, which killed 260 people.

“There is no delay in the investigation. The timeline for a major accident investigation cannot be predicted, as it depends on several factors and is an evolving process involving multiple variables,” the ministry said, adding that the investigation was continuing.

It said all “probable causes and contributing factors leading to the accident are being investigated.”