Air India is investigating the crew of a London–Bengaluru flight following mid-air malfunctions that let to its grounding on Sunday. The incident had sparked immediate comparisons to the devastating Air India crash from last year — with many claiming there was a serious issue with the fuel cut-off switch. The domestic carrier is now investigating if its crew followed all compliance procedures.
According to a Reuters report, the probe will focus on why the crew did not report the incident in London. They will also be asked why it was later reported in India that they had initially felt it was safe to fly.
The British aviation authority has reportedly asked Air India in private for details of all maintenance actions before the decision to take off. The regulatory agency has given the airline one week to submit a complete response, or face regulatory action against it and its fleet of 33 Boeing 787s.
DGCA on Air India fuel switch probe
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has issued a clarification earlier this week insisting that “no abnormal” engine parameters or related system messages were observed during engine start or at any time thereafter.
“During engine start in London, on two occasions crew observed that the fuel control switch did not remain positively latched in the “RUN” position when light vertical pressure was applied. On the third attempt, the switch latched correctly in “RUN” and subsequently remained stable. Before continuing with the rest of procedure, a physical verification was performed by the crew to confirm that the switch was fully and positively latched in the “RUN” position. No abnormal engine parameters, cautions, warnings, or related system messages were observed during engine start or at any time thereafter,” read the formal rejoinder from DGCA.
Nearly 200 AI planes tagged for repetitive defects
Data presented before the Lok Sabha on Thursday indicated that hundreds of planes operated by Air India Group had been tagged for repetitive defects since January 2025. The government explained that a total of 377 aircraft were identified as having recurring defects since January last year out of the total 754 planes analysed for such deficiencies across six scheduled airlines.
A total of 267 aircraft belonging to the Tata Group were analysed for issues — with repetitive defects showing up for 191 planes. This included 137 out of 166 Air India carriers and 54 out of 101 Air India Express aircraft.
“We have, out of abundance caution, carried out checks across our fleet. Hence, numbers are higher…In case of Air India, most of the issues are with category D, which includes items like seats, tray tables, screens (on the back of seats) and so on. These are not related to the safety of the aircraft,” air India officials told PTI.
Data presented by Union Minister Murlidhar Mohol indicates that 148 out of 405 IndiGo planes also showed similar issues. Sixteen SpiceJet aircraft (out of 43) and 14 Akasa Air planes (out of 32 analysed) also showed were also identified for repetitive defects.