AI replaced module in cockpit in crashed jet after Boeing directive

Air India replaced the Throttle Control Module (TCM) of the crashed Boeing 787-8 plane twice in the last six years following a directive from Boeing in 2019, sources said on Sunday.

TCM includes fuel control switches, which have come to focus in the ongoing probe into the fatal crash as these switches were cut off immediately after takeoff of the ill-fated London-bound Dreamliner VT-ANB that crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12.

The replacement of the TCM twice — in 2019 and 2023 — was mentioned in the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's (AAIB) preliminary probe report into the crash that was released on Saturday. It also said the TCM replacement was not linked to the fuel control switches.

The source said a revised Maintenance Planning Document (MPD) was issued by Boeing for all the operators of the Dreamliners in 2019.

As per the MPD, the operators have to change the TCM, which includes the fuel control switches, every 24,000 flight hours, the sources said.

Queries sent to Air India remained unanswered. Specific details about the MPD could not be immediately ascertained.