Image: ANI
MUMBAI: Following media reports of an on-ground Air India Boeing 787 fuel control switch malfunction in London the UK’s civil aviation regulator has sought information from the airline on the maintenance work done on the said aircraft in London before it was cleared to take off for Bengaluru.In a letter sent to Air India, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said that Air India should submit a complete response within a week failing which it could face regulatory action. Foreign regulators seeking information from the operator following an incident/accident is a standard process done to ensure continued compliance with safety standards. On Feb 1 in London Air India crew of flight AI-132 observed on two occasions that the left engine fuel control switch did not remain positively latched in the “RUN” position when light vertical pressure was applied. On a subsequent attempt, the switch latched correctly and remained stable and the crew went on to operate the flight in Bengaluru where the aircraft was grounded for further inspection. The ministry of civil aviation on Tuesday said that at Bengaluru during the check both left and right switches were checked and found satisfactoryAir India on Wednesday said that it had completed precautionary re-inspections of the Fuel Control Switch (FCS) across its entire operational fleet of Boeing 787 aircraft and found no issues. “The inspections were undertaken in an abundance of caution following an observation reported by one of our pilots,” Air India said.“We acknowledge the regulator’s (Indian regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation) proactive oversight in conducting independent inspections and subsequently clearing the FCS,” the airline statement said. The airline added that it will fully adhere to the regulator’s guidance to circulate original equipment manufacturer (OEM)-recommended operating procedures related to the operation of the Fuel Control Switch to all flight crew members. Air India operates the Boeing 787 Dreamliner on several long-haul international routes including to the UK.Responding to the ministry’s statement about the component working satisfactorily, the Safety Matters Foundation, an NGO on Wednesday submitted a complaint to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). The Foundation warned that publicly giving a “clean chit” to the Fuel Control Switch while the AAIB investigation is active amounts to an “institutional bypass,” potentially contaminating evidence, prejudicing the investigative narrative, and eroding public trust. It urged the AAIB to secure all related evidence and reaffirm its independence.The Foundation’s complaint said that such public exoneration of a system by a regulatory body, while an independent safety investigation is underway, constitutes an “institutional bypass.” The action risks contaminating evidence as components and records from the AI132 incident may be handled or altered without the strict, sealed chain-of-custody required for material evidence in a major accident probe. It also involves prejudicing the narrative as publicly framing a potential causal factor as “resolved” can influence witness memory, expert analysis, and the investigative focus of the AI171 inquiry. These actions erode public trust, the Foundation said. “It undermines confidence in the AAIB’s statutory independence and the finality of its conclusions, which are crucial for learning lessons and restoring public faith in aviation safety,” it added.“The AAIB’s mandate is to find the cause, not to confirm pre-stated conclusions,” said Capt. Amit Singh, Founder-Director of Safety Matters Foundation and a senior safety advocate. “When another agency publicly closes the book on a system that may be relevant to an open crash investigation, it doesn’t just risk evidence, it risks the entire truth-seeking process. The public deserves an investigation led by evidence, not by narrative.”The Foundation made an urgent request to the AAIB to immediately take custody of all evidence from the AI132 occurrence, placing it under a sealed AAIB chain-of-custody, issue a preservation Order, which was to direct all parties to preserve and not interfere with any related evidence and assert its authority by publicly clarifying that its investigation remains independent and that no external statement is determinative of its findings. The Foundation added that AAIB should also launch an Inquiry and examine whether the DGCA’s communications have adversely impacted the AI171 investigation.