After the death of Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash, discussions on aircraft safety and technical issues have intensified. Against this backdrop, it has come to light that there has been another malfunction in the fuel control switch of Air India's Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. Due to this technical issue, the flight had to be stopped and the aircraft was grounded. According to information provided by Air India, a pilot had complained of a technical fault in the fuel switch. After preliminary inspection, the aircraft was grounded. There were about 200 passengers on this aircraft. Following the pilot's complaint, the airline immediately contacted and informed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) about the incident.
According to DGCA's directive, Air India has started inspecting the fuel control switch on all its Boeing 787 aircraft. The inspection has not found any issues in other aircraft. The aircraft is safe, and passengers' lives are not at risk. However, this incident has raised concerns among air travelers and accelerated discussions on safety standards. According to Safety Matters Foundation, the staff of Air India Flight AI132 reported that while turning on the fuel switch of the Boeing Dreamliner's left engine, it started moving from the run position to the cut-off position. This could have inadvertently shut down the engine during flight. Such technical issues can create unexpected hazards during flights, which require immediate action.
This Air India flight departed from London's Heathrow Airport at 9:19 PM on Sunday and landed in Bengaluru at 11:54 AM on Monday. The airline is closely monitoring the situation and is cooperating with the DGCA. However, there has been no official response from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation yet. This incident came to light while an investigation into the Boeing 787 Dreamliner accident in Ahmedabad last June was ongoing. Experts believe that such technical issues can pose a serious threat to flight safety. Air India has taken immediate steps to inspect and repair the fuel switches of all Dreamliner aircraft in its fleet.
Air India passengers have also expressed concern over this incident. Although air travel is safe, such technical issues necessitate additional precautions by airlines. Experts estimate that these incidents may lead to a review of aviation safety regulations and measures will be taken to prevent future accidents.