Mumbai: Air India on Tuesday blamed its pilot of its Heathrow-Bengaluru flight on Monday for ``applying external force in an incorrect direction causing the switch to move easily towards (fuel) cutoff." Sources said it was surprising that the pilot, who is is an experienced one, would apply external force in an ``incorrect" direction. ``There are well laid down procesures laid down by Boeing and pilots are well trained to operate the switches, among other things. Why would any pilot apply external force in a so-called incorrect way fully knowing it would cause fuel cut off?," a pilot not wishing to be quoted told the FPJ. ``If what the airline is claiming is true, then the question arises what action it has taken against the pilot concerned? Air India cannot both blame its pilot and yet not take action against him," he added. In fact, many in civil aviation circles said the crew should not have taken off from Heathrow when they encountered problem with the fuel control switch (FCS).
Questions Raised by Aviation Experts
The airline said in a statement that on February 1, ``Air India B787-8 aircraft VT-ANX operated flight Al 132(London-Bangalore). During engine start in London, on two occasions the crew observed that the fuel control switch (FCS) 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."
After landing at Bangalore, the crew reported the defect. Air India referred the matter to Boeing and based on Boeing-recommended checks to establish the serviceability of FCS "both the 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."
Air India claimed that `these inspections were carried out in the presence of DCA officials.
Improper Force Direction Identified as Cause
The airline said ``a video currently circulating on the social media was analysed in the light of Boeing- recommended procedures, and it was observed that the procedure demonstrated in the video was incorrect."
The malfunction of the FCS on AI-132 on Monday, brought back the horrors of AI-171 which crashed in Ahmedabad in June 2025, killing 260 people. The FCS of the ill-fated AI-171 moved to the cutoff position just 32 seconds after takeoff, despite the ‘lift-and-throw’ safety guard designed to prevent accidental activation, according to the preliminary investigation by Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB).
Following the incident, Air India grounded the aircraft to investigate the cause. In an internal memo to Dreamliner pilots on Tuesday, Air India’s senior vice president for flight operations, Manish Uppal, stated that the matter was escalated to Boeing for priority evaluation. It also added that the airline’s engineers initiated precautionary fleet-wide re-inspection of the FCS latch to verify normal operations as a matter of abundant precaution.
To get details on exclusive and budget-friendly property deals in Mumbai & surrounding regions, do visit: https://budgetproperties.in/
