Air India Starts Inspection of Fuel Control Switches in its Boeing 787 Planes
Air India's Senior Vice President for Flight Operations, Manish Uppal, told Boeing 787 pilots that the airline has initiated a fleet-wide re-inspection of the aircraft's fuel control switches
New Delhi: A day after a pilot reported a fuel control switch glitch on an Air India’s Boeing 787-8 after a London-Bengaluru flight, the airline has started inspection of the device across its 33-strong Dreamliner fleet. The airline has also asked its B787 pilots to promptly report any defects observed during operations.
An pilot had on Monday reported that the left fuel control switch failed to remain locked in the `Run’ position and slipped on its own to “cut off.” This malfunction has the potential to shut down fuel supply to the engines. The fuel control switch is at the centre of the probe into the AI Flight 171 crash in June last year at Ahmedabad.
Air India said it had grounded the particular aircraft for checks, and the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has started a probe. The DGCA on Tuesday said applying external force in an incorrect direction had caused the switch to move easily from ‘run’ to ‘cut off’, “due to the angular base plate allowing slip when pressed improperly with finger or thumb.”
The DGCA elaborated that during engine start in London, on two occasions the crew observed that the fuel control switch did not remain positively latched in the ‘run’ position when light vertical pressure was applied. On the third attempt, the switch latched correctly in ‘run’ and subsequently remained stable. Before continuing with the rest of procedure, a physical verification was performed by the crew to confirm that the switch was fully and positively latched in the ‘run’ position.
“No abnormal engine parameters, cautions, warnings, or related system messages were observed during engine start or at any time thereafter. The operating crew member was briefed on the observation, unnecessary contact with the switch was avoided, and engine indications and alerting systems were closely monitored by the crew for the remainder of the flight. The flight was completed without incident,” the DGCA said.
The aviation watch dog said that after landing at Bengaluru, the crew reported the defect and Air India referred the matter to Boeing for guidance. Accordingly, based on the Boeing recommended checks of the fuel control switch, Air India engineering observed: “Both left and right switches were checked and found satisfactory, with the locking tooth/pawl fully seated and not slipping from ‘run’ to ‘cut off’. When full force was applied parallel to the base plate, the switch remained secure. However, applying external force in an incorrect direction caused the switch to move easily from ‘run’ to ‘cut off’, due to the angular base plate allowing slip when pressed improperly with finger or thumb.”
In addition, based on Boeing’s communication, the pull-to-unlock force was checked on the fuel control switch of other aircraft and in all cases the pull-to-unlock force was found within limits. These inspections were carried out in the presence of DGCA officers.
