Air India grounds Boeing jet after pilot flags possible fuel control switch defect

54 minutes agoCherylann MollanMumbaiGetty ImagesThe airline said that it was in touch with Boeing over the issueAir India has grounded a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner jet after one of its pilots reported a possible defect in the aircraft's fuel control switch.The airline said in a statement on Monday that it had informed India's aviation regulator about the issue and that it was getting the pilot's concerns checked on a "priority basis"."We are in contact with India" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="23960" data-entity-type="organization">Air India and are supporting their review of this matter," a Boeing spokesperson said in response to an email.The grounding comes amid an ongoing investigation into a plane crash last June involving an India" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="23960" data-entity-type="organization">Air India aircraft of the same model which killed 260 people.The airline did not specify the nature of the issue flagged by its pilot or details of the flight.But Reuters and The Times of India reported that the defect was flagged after the plane landed in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru after taking off from London.Last year's fatal crash of the London-bound India" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="23960" data-entity-type="organization">Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner occurred less than a minute after the plane took off from Ahmedabad airport in western India. India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is investigating the crash and a final report is expected to be released in a few months.India" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="23960" data-entity-type="organization">Air India crash plane had record of safety defects, campaigners claimWhy cockpit audio deepens the mystery of India" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="23960" data-entity-type="organization">Air India crashIndia's aviation regulator had also ordered an investigation of cockpit fuel switches in Boeing 787 and Boeing 737 aircraft operating in the country after the crash. India" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="23960" data-entity-type="organization">Air India had said then that its inspections did not find any issue with the locking mechanism of the switch, which it reiterated on Monday. "India" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="23960" data-entity-type="organization">Air India had checked the fuel control switches on all Boeing 787 aircraft in its fleet after a directive from the DGCA [Directorate General of Civil Aviation], and had found no issues," the airline said in the statement.On Tuesday, Reuters news agency reported that India" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="23960" data-entity-type="organization">Air India had begun re-checking the fuel switches on its Boeing Dreamliner aircraft following the incident flagged by the pilot.Aviation consultant and former air accident investigator Tim Atkinson told the BBC that he trusted Boeing's design of the fuel control switches."These switches are designed with one purpose in mind, and that is that they cannot be moved unintentionally. There is no doubt in my mind that the design is good. I would be astonished to find it had some kind of latent defect," he said.