- Air India identified the fuel switch as the affected component on flight AI132 Boeing 787-8
- The faulty fuel switch had operated for 3,440 hours, below its 20,000-hour lifespan
- Air India began inspecting fuel switches on its entire Boeing 787 fleet across multiple airports
A day after another fuel switch scare on Air India flight AI132 a Boeing Dreamliner 787-8, Air India has identified the affected component. Sources told NDTV Profit that, the component in question on AI132 is the fuel switch.
"The total life of the component in question is 20,000 hours, and the affected fuel switch in AI132 had completed just 3,440, less than 20% of its lifetime." The source told NDTV Profit that there is a process that any airline follows and the affected fuel switch will be sent to the OEM, Boeing.
The source further clarified, "The issue is with a specific component, not the aircraft. The component will be changed on the aircraft and it will be further sent to OEM for further investigation."
On Feb. 1, pilots operating the flight mentioned in the log book about the incident. NDTV Profit reviewed the maintenance log entry by the pilot. The entry read, "Left fuel control switch slips from RUN to CUT OFF when pushed down slightly, it does not lock in its position."
Air India sources also told NDTV Profit that it has commenced inspection of fuel switch of the entire Dreamliner fleet yesterday. The sources said, "Inspection of 787's was undertaken at several airports. Many Dreamliners have been inspected, the remaining aircraft will be inspected soon." Till the time of filing this report, Air India has inspected at least half of its Dreamliner fleet which consists of over 30 aircraft of such type.
ALSO READ: Air India Starts Inspection Of Fuel Control Switches In Its Boeing 787 Planes
NDTV Profit also accessed the internal memo of Air India on this incident. It read, "Following the reported defect involving a Fuel Control Switch on one of our B787 aircraft, engineering has escalated the matter to Boeing for priority evaluation. While we await Boeing's response, our engineers - out of abundance of caution - have initiated precautionary fleet-wide re-inspection."
The memo also stated, "It is to verify the Fuel Control Switch (FCS) latch to verify normal operations. To date, no adverse findings have been reported on the aircraft for which this re-inspection is completed."
In a statement issued yesterday Air India spokesperson said, "We are aware that one of our pilots has reported a possible defect on the fuel control switch of a Boeing 787-8 aircraft. After receiving this initial information, we have grounded the said aircraft. Involving with the OEM to get the pilot's concerns checked on a priority basis."
DGCA also issued a statement describing the incident. DGCA stated that during engine start in London, on two occasions crew observed that the fuel control switch did not remain positively latched in the "RUN" position.
"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," said India's Civil Aviation regulator.
DGCA added that no abnormal engine parameters, cautions, warnings, or related system messages were observed during engine start or at any time thereafter. The alerting systems were closely monitored by the crew for the remainder of the flight, the flight was completed without incident.
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