Air India Says No Issues Found In Boeing 737 Fuel Control Switches

Air India has completed precautionary inspections on the locking mechanism of the Fuel Control Switch (FCS) on all its Boeing 737 aircraft, with no issues found, the airline said on Tuesday.

The probe into the Air India flight that crashed and killed 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground, is centred around the fuel control switches on the Boeing 787 jetliner.

A preliminary report into the tragedy depicted confusion in the cockpit shortly before the jetliner crashed, after the plane's engine fuel cutoff switches almost simultaneously flipped, starving the engines of fuel.

Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.

Days earlier, Air India announced the completion of similar precautionary checks across its fleet of Boeing 787 aircraft and revealed that no issues were detected.

Air India operates a fleet of Boeing 787 twin-aisle jets on its long-haul operations, while low-cost unit Air India Express operates the Boeing 737 single-aisle jets.

A final report into the incident is expected within a year of the accident.

Air India reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining the highest standards of operational safety and ensuring full regulatory compliance across its network.

What are the FCSs?

The FCSs regulate fuel flow into a plane's engines. They are used by pilots to start or shut down engines on the ground or to manually shut down or restart engines if an engine failure occurs during a flight.

Aviation experts say a pilot would not be able to accidentally move the fuel switches that feed the engines. But if moved, the effect would be immediate, cutting off engine power.

There are independent power systems and wiring for the fuel cutoff switches and the fuel valves controlled by those switches, according to US aviation safety expert John Cox.

The switches are spring-loaded to remain in position. To change one from run to cutoff, a pilot has to first pull the switch up and then move it from run to cutoff or vice versa.

There are two modes: 'CUTOFF' and 'RUN'.

MENAFN22072025000049011007ID1109830762