Air India grounds Boeing Dreamliner plane after pilot flags fuel control switch issue

Published February 2, 2026
An Air India aircraft flies low as it prepares to land in Mumbai, India on October 22, 2025. — Reuters/File
An Air India aircraft flies low as it prepares to land in Mumbai, India on October 22, 2025. — Reuters/File

Air India said on Monday it had grounded one of its Boeing Dreamliners after one of its pilots reported an issue with the fuel control switch, which is at the centre of an ongoing probe into a deadly air crash last year.

“We have grounded said aircraft and are involving the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) to get the pilot’s concerns checked on a priority basis,” the airline said, adding that the matter has been communicated to India’s aviation regulator.

Boeing and India’s civil aviation ministry, which houses the aviation regulator, did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for comment.

The Tata Group and Singapore Airlines-owned carrier has faced intense scrutiny since a Dreamliner crash in June last year killed 260 people.

Air India said on Monday it had checked the fuel control switches on all Boeing 787 aircraft in its fleet after a directive from the regulator last year, and had found no issues.

A cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots of the June 12 Air India flight suggested that the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane’s engines, a source briefed on US officials’ early assessment of evidence told Reuters last year.

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