New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered that Boeing test a fuel control switch from one of its aircrafts that a pilot flagged as potentially defective earlier this year in the presence of DGCA personnel, the civil aviation ministry said on Tuesday (May 18).

Its announcement confirms a Reuters report from earlier in the day saying that DGCA officials intend to travel to Seattle to watch Boeing test the component that was part of a 787-8 ‘Dreamliner’ aircraft operated by Air India. The development comes against the background of the model's fuel control switches being at the centre of last year's tragic Ahmedabad plane crash.

In February a pilot aboard Air India flight 132 from London to Bengaluru reported per the DGCA that the left fuel control switch on their Dreamliner did not lock into its ‘on’ (also known as ‘run’) position after two attempts to make it do so and instead slipped to its ‘off’ (or ‘cutoff’) position when pushed slightly. It worked on the third try, after which the crew commenced and completed their journey.

Last year on June 12, the London-bound Air India flight 171, another Dreamliner, crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad airport, killing 270 people including 241 of the 242 on board. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB)'s preliminary report released a month later noted that both its fuel switches were turned off almost simultaneously, cutting off fuel to the two engines and causing it to crash.

To ensure the “continued airworthiness” of the fuel control switch from the February 2026 incident, the DGCA has directed that Boeing inspect the module in the presence of the regulator's personnel, the civil aviation ministry said on Tuesday night.

Earlier in the day, Reuters's Aditya Kalra and Abhijith Ganapavaram had reported that a DGCA official in March directed Air India to ensure that Boeing tests the switch at its facility in Seattle in the presence of a DGCA officer because “the matter is sensitive in nature”. The regulator's email did not spell out why it deemed the matter sensitive.

Air India said in a statement carried by news outlets on Tuesday that it understood the upcoming test to be conducted in controlled laboratory conditions is “intended to ensure a thorough and conclusive evaluation of the component, as a measure of abundant caution”.

An Indian official cited by Reuters also said the government “wants to be thorough” and that the DGCA would like to see if one can move the switch even when it is locked by applying pressure at a particular angle.

A day after the incident, on February 3, the DGCA had announced that Air India engineering personnel tested the module in the presence of the regulator's officials and in line with Boeing's recommendations, and that both switches were “found satisfactory”.

“However, applying external force in an incorrect direction caused the switch to move easily from RUN to CUTOFF, due to the angular base plate allowing slip when pressed improperly with finger or thumb,” the DGCA said then in its statement.

After flight 132 landed in Bengaluru the aircraft was grounded and Air India said two days later that it inspected the fuel control switches on all its Dreamliners as a precautionary move and found no issues.

Britain's civil aviation regulator had asked the airline at the time why flight 132's crew left for Bengaluru even after reporting the issue with the switch, Reuters had reported.

According to the AAIB's preliminary report, flight 171 crashed after both its fuel control switches were shifted from ‘run’ to ‘cutoff’ within a second of each other. “In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so,” the bureau said.

Although the switches were turned back on some ten seconds later, the aircraft could not recover from both engines being deprived of fuel at its low height and speed and it crashed in Ahmedabad less than a minute after taking off.

Next month the AAIB's final report is due and if it does not come out then an interim update is required per international rules, Reuters noted.

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