UK Civil Aviation Authority Asks For Explanation From Air India Over Boeing Dreamliner Fuel Switch Incident
New Delhi: The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has asked for an explanation from Air India how a Boeing Dreamliner passenger jet took off from London on February 1 with a possibly faulty switch. The flight was later grounded on arrival in India for safety checks, reported Reuters.
In a letter to Air India, Britain’s aviation authority has warned of regulatory action against the airline and its Boeing 787 fleet if the airline does not submit a complete response within a week.
In a statement issued by Air India, the airline has said that a precautionary re-inspection of the switches was conducted and no issues were found. Air India said that it would "respond to the UK regulator accordingly".
The CAA has also said in a statement that it was a standard process for a regulator to request details following "an aircraft incident and is in line with safety assurance procedures".
Earlier, the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had said on Tuesday (February 3) that during inspections of the fuel control switches of an Air India Boeing 787-8 aircraft in question, no issues were found, reported Business Standard.
The incident had come to light on Sunday, when the pilots of the AI132 flight observed after the engines were started in London that on two occasions the fuel control switch did not remain “positively latched” in the "Run" position when light vertical pressure was applied, said the DGCA in a statement.
However, on the third attempt, the switch latched correctly and remained stable. After physically verifying that the switch was “fully and positively latched” in the "Run" position, the flight crew proceeded further.
According to the DGCA, in subsequent post flight inspections the fuel control switches were found to be serviceable, with no abnormal engine parameters or alerts observed. It added that owing to its design, the switch could move if it is pressed incorrectly but this did not indicate a defect. The DGCA also and advised Air India to circulate Boeing’s operating procedure for the fuel cut-off switches to its pilots.
In last year’s crash crash involving an Air India Dreamliner, which killed 260 people in Gujarat and triggered tighter scrutiny of the airline, fuel switches were at the centre.
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