The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will soon travel to plane maker Boeing’s facility in Seattle to test the fuel control switches (FCS) panel from a Boeing 787, which operated between London’s Heathrow airport and Bengaluru airport in February this year.
Air India ordered a precautionary fleet-wide reinspection of the FCS latch on its Boeing 787 aircraft after a pilot flagged a possible defect during operations on February 2. The aircraft, which the airline later grounded, operated flight AI132 and landed at Bengaluru with at least 200 people on board, after which the issue was highlighted by the pilot in command (PIC) in the aircraft’s logbook.
Two ministry officials confirmed the development and said, “The fuel control switch will be tested in the presence of the DGCA officials.”
“The team will be present as observers,” he added.
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To be sure, in a preliminary inspection conducted on both switches, the DGCA found them to be satisfactory. However, the component was sent to Boeing’s facility in Seattle for detailed checks.
{{/usCountry}}To be sure, in a preliminary inspection conducted on both switches, the DGCA found them to be satisfactory. However, the component was sent to Boeing’s facility in Seattle for detailed checks.
{{/usCountry}}Commenting on the development, an Air India spokesperson said, “The module had already been confirmed as fully functional by both the OEM and the DGCA. The decision to proceed with further review and testing is understood to be intended to ensure a thorough and conclusive evaluation of the component, as a measure of abundant caution. This additional step involves examination in a controlled laboratory environment to definitively confirm its performance and integrity. We fully support the process.”
A second official said that the government has adopted a cautious approach on any development related to FSCs since the June 12 B787 crash last year that killed 260 people on board.
“The DGCA has been updating the AAIB (Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau) on all the developments related to fuel control switches since the accident,” one of the officials mentioned above said.