Air India completes checks of fuel switches

The inspections come amid intense scrutiny of fuel control switches following the Air India Flight 171 crash that killed 260 people in June. The preliminary probe report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) found the aircraft's fuel switches were set from “run” to “cutoff” position during takeoff, starving the engines in what is likely the direct cause of the crash.

- HT Correspondent

How the switches were set to that position - whether deliberately (and by whom) or due to some other factors — is now at the centre of the investigation.

Fuel control switches are designed with multiple safety mechanisms, including spring-loaded locking features and metal guards to prevent accidental movement. “Air India has completed precautionary inspections on the locking mechanism of Fuel Control Switch on all Boeing 787 and Boeing 737 aircraft in its fleet. In the inspections, no issues were found with the said locking mechanism,” an Air India spokesperson said.