Air India completes checks on Boeing 787, 737 aircraft, says no issue found

Air India on Tuesday announced that it has completed precautionary inspections on the locking mechanism of Fuel Control Switch (FCS) on all Boeing 787 and 737 aircraft in its fleet, adding that it found no issues with the locking mechanism.

This came after a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft flying from Ahmedabad to Gatwick (London) crashed on June 12 just minutes after taking off, killing all but one person on board.

In a statement released today, the company added, "Boeing 737 aircraft are part of the fleet of Air India Express, Air India's low-cost subsidiary. With this, the two airlines have complied with the directives of the DGCA issued on July 14, 2025."

The voluntary inspections began on July 12, the company said, adding that they completed the checks within the prescribed time limit set by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Business Standard previously reported that Air India informed its pilots that the precautionary inspections of the fuel control switch locking system on all its Boeing 787 aircraft were completed, adding that no issues were found in 787 aircraft.

A month after the plane crashed into a medical college in Ahmedabad's Meghani Nagar, a preliminary investigation report by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) was released. The report suggested that the fuel control switches on Flight 171 transitioned from 'run' to 'cutoff' in just seconds after take-off, which led to a dual engine failure and the subsequent crash.

Following the observations made by AAIB's preliminary report, the aviation regulator, on July 14, directed all airlines operating Boeing 737 and 787 aircraft to inspect the locking mechanism of fuel control switches and submit their findings by July 21.

The airline also advised its pilots to remain vigilant and said, "Please continue to remain vigilant and report any defect in the Technical Log, as per the existing reporting process. The Coruson tool is also available, should there be any concerns identified during operations.”