LONDON: Britain’s aviation regulator has sought clarification from Air India after a Boeing Dreamliner passenger aircraft departed London despite concerns over a potentially faulty fuel switch and was later grounded in India upon arrival for safety checks.

According to Reuters, the UK Civil Aviation Authority informed the airline in a letter dated February 3 that regulatory action could be initiated against Air India and its Boeing 787 fleet if a complete response is not submitted within a week.

The development comes amid safety checks across Air India’s Boeing 787 fleet, with the airline completing inspections of fuel control switches on all its aircraft, sources said on Wednesday, after a pilot flagged a possible defect earlier this week.

An Air India Boeing 787-8 aircraft was grounded on Monday after a pilot reported a possible defect in the fuel control switch. An Air India spokesperson confirmed that one of its pilots had flagged the issue and that the matter was communicated to the country’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

“We are aware that one of our pilots has reported a possible defect on the fuel control switch of a Boeing 787-8 aircraft. After receiving this initial information, we have grounded the said aircraft and are involving the OEM to get the pilot’s concerns checked on a priority basis. The matter has been communicated to the aviation regulator, DGCA. Air India had checked the fuel control switches on all Boeing 787 aircraft in its fleet after a directive from the DGCA, and had found no issues. At Air India, the safety of our passengers and crew remains a top priority,” the spokesperson said.

Following the incident, Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) President Captain CS Randhawa urged the DGCA and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) to immediately investigate possible electrical faults in Boeing 787 aircraft, citing repeated incidents involving uncommanded movement of fuel control switches.

Captain Randhawa noted that this was the third known incident in which uncommanded movement of fuel control switches had been recorded on a Boeing 787 aircraft.

On Tuesday, the DGCA issued a rejoinder regarding the purported malfunction of the fuel cut-off switch on Air India’s Boeing B787-8 aircraft VT-ANX, which the crew identified on two occasions on January 1. The regulator clarified that an external force was applied in the wrong direction, resulting in the switch from “RUN to CUTOFF”. (ANI)