- By Shubham Bajpai
- Mon, 02 Feb 2026 08:24 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Air India has grounded a London-Bengaluru flight and admitted that the Boeing 787-8 aircraft saw a possible defect in the fuel switch as the pilot reported it had cut off.
In its statement, Air India 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 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 matter has been communicated to the aviation regulator, DGCA."
News agency PTI, citing sources aware of the incident, said the fuel control switch failed to be in the 'RUN' position and moved towards the 'CUT OFF' position. 'RUN' and 'CUT OFF' are used to start or shut down engines, respectively.
It could not be immediately ascertained at what stage of the flight the Air India pilot noticed the possible malfunctioning of the fuel control switch.
Boeing has also issued a statement, saying it was in contact with Air India and was supporting their review of this matter.
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The incident has drawn comparisons with and revived memories of the June 12 Ahmedabad plane crash, which claimed the lives of 260 people.
In the wake of the incident, the DGCA had ordered a complete security check of the Boeing 787-8 aircraft before further operations. The aircraft had flown only after they cleared security checks. The airline has highlighted it in its latest statement.
It said, "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," Air India said in a statement.
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The voice recording from the cockpit of the doomed aircraft had revealed a pilot asking his co-pilot about why he had cut off the fuel switch, to which the latter replied he hadn't done it and had no idea.
The decoding had indicated a possible glitch in the fuel switch, which could have led to one of the worst aircraft tragedies in the world.
(With PTI Inputs)