Air India has reportedly completed precautionary inspections of the locking mechanism of the fuel control switch (FCS) in all of its Boeing 787-8 aircraft and found no issues. The fuel switch module is one of the focal points of the Air India 171 plane crash probe. As per the initial report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AIIB), both fuel switches moved from ‘run’ to ‘cutoff’ a second apart almost after takeoff.
According to a report in NDTV that quoted officials of the airline, their engineering team initiated precautionary inspections on the locking mechanism of FCS on all our Boeing 787 aircraft over the weekend. “The inspections have been completed and no issues were found,” an official told the news site.
The official said that all of the carrier’s Boeing 787-8 aircraft have undergone throttle control module (TCM) replacement as per the Boeing maintenance schedule. The FCS is part of the module.
An internal update has gone to Air India pilots from the flight operations team. Before this, the FCS of the entire Boeing 737 Max fleet of Air India Express was also checked by nothing was found, said the official.
The checks came after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a directive to inspect the FCS of specific models by July 21.
The AAIB report revealed that both engines on Air India Flight AI-171 lost power moments after takeoff. The pilots made a desperate attempt to regain control, but the aircraft crashed, killing 241 people onboard and more on the ground. The report detailed how the fuel cutoff switches for both engines changed from ‘run’ to ‘cutoff’ within seconds of each other. This sequence is seen as a critical clue in understanding the loss of control on the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.
Cockpit voice recordings captured one pilot asking, “Why did you cut off?” and the other replying, “I didn’t.” This exchange, recorded shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, raises questions about whether the fuel shutdown was manual or caused by a mechanical fault. Data shows the crew immediately tried to recover.
The AAIB explained that when fuel control switches are moved from ‘cutoff’ to ‘run’ during flight, the full authority dual engine control (FADEC) manages relight and thrust recovery. Engine 1 began to stabilise, but Engine 2 struggled. Although it reignited, it could not maintain core speed and repeatedly reintroduced fuel without recovering thrust.
