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New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has instructed Boeing to evaluate a fuel control switch from one of its aircraft that a pilot had earlier this year identified as possibly malfunctioning in the presence of DGCA representatives, the civil aviation ministry stated on Tuesday (May 18).

The announcement validates a Reuters report published earlier in the day stating that DGCA officials are expected to travel to Seattle to observe Boeing test the component, which belonged to a 787-8 ‘Dreamliner’ aircraft operated by Air India. The matter has gained significance because the Dreamliner model’s fuel control switches were at the centre of last year’s fatal Ahmedabad air disaster.

In February, a pilot operating Air India flight 132 from London to Bengaluru informed the DGCA that the left fuel control switch on the Dreamliner failed to remain in its ‘on’ (or ‘run’) position after two attempts and instead shifted to its ‘off’ (or ‘cutoff’) setting when slight pressure was applied. The switch functioned properly on the third attempt, after which the crew proceeded with and completed the flight.

Last year on June 12, Air India flight 171 bound for London, another Dreamliner aircraft, crashed moments after departing Ahmedabad airport, killing 270 individuals including 241 of the 242 passengers and crew onboard. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB)’s preliminary report released a month later stated that both fuel switches were moved to the off position nearly simultaneously, interrupting fuel supply to both engines and leading to the crash.

To guarantee the “continued airworthiness” of the fuel control switch involved in the February 2026 occurrence, the DGCA has directed Boeing to inspect the component in the presence of the regulator’s personnel, the civil aviation ministry said on Tuesday evening.

Earlier during the day, Reuters journalists Aditya Kalra and Abhijith Ganapavaram reported that a DGCA official in March instructed Air India to ensure Boeing examined the switch at its Seattle facility while a DGCA officer observed because “the matter is sensitive in nature”. The regulator’s communication did not specify why the issue was considered sensitive.

Air India stated in remarks carried by media outlets on Tuesday that it understood the upcoming examination, to be conducted under controlled laboratory conditions, is “intended to ensure a thorough and conclusive evaluation of the component, as a measure of abundant caution”.

An Indian official quoted by Reuters also stated that the government “wants to be thorough” and that the DGCA intends to determine whether the switch can be moved even while locked by applying pressure from a particular angle.

A day after the episode, on February 3, the DGCA announced that Air India engineering staff tested the module in the presence of regulator officials and according to Boeing’s guidance, and that both switches were “found satisfactory”.

“However, applying external force in an incorrect direction caused the switch to move easily from RUN to CUTOFF, due to the angular base plate allowing slip when pressed improperly with finger or thumb,” the DGCA stated at the time in its release.

After flight 132 arrived in Bengaluru the aircraft was grounded, and Air India said two days later that it had inspected the fuel control switches on all its Dreamliners as a precautionary action and detected no problems.

Britain’s civil aviation authority had asked the airline at the time why the crew of flight 132 continued onward to Bengaluru despite reporting the issue with the switch, Reuters had earlier reported.

According to the AAIB’s preliminary findings, flight 171 crashed after both its fuel control switches shifted from ‘run’ to ‘cutoff’ within one second of each other. “In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so,” the bureau stated.

Although the switches were returned to the on position around ten seconds later, the aircraft could not recover after both engines were deprived of fuel at such a low altitude and speed, and it crashed in Ahmedabad less than a minute after takeoff.

Next month the AAIB’s final report is expected and, if it is delayed, then an interim update will be required under international aviation regulations, Reuters noted.