South Korea to order Boeing fuel switch checks after Air India probe
Fuel switch locks have come under scrutiny after a 2018 advisory from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) figured in a preliminary report into last month's crash of Air India's Boeing 787-8 jet.
A spokesperson for the South Korean transport ministry said the checks were in line with a 2018 advisory from the FAA, but did not give a timeline for them.
Boeing referred Reuters' questions to the FAA, which was not immediately available to comment outside regular hours.
In the Air India crash, the switches had almost simultaneously flipped from run position to cutoff just after takeoff, but the preliminary report did not say how they could have flipped during flight.
Over the weekend, Air India Group started checking the locking mechanism on the fuel switches of its Boeing 787 and 737 fleets and has discovered no problems yet, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
About half the group's 787s have been inspected and nearly all its 737s, in inspections set to be completed in the next day or two, the source added, speaking on condition of anonymity.
In a statement, Japan's JAL said safety was its top priority, adding, "We are closely monitoring the investigation into the incident and will implement any necessary inspections based on its findings."
In its 2018 advisory, the FAA recommended, but did not mandate, operators of several Boeing models, including the 787, to inspect the locking feature of the fuel cutoff switches to ensure they could not be moved accidentally.
On Sunday, citing a document and sources, Reuters reported that the planemaker and the FAA had privately issued notifications to airlines and regulators that the fuel switch locks on Boeing planes were safe and checks were not required.
The Air India preliminary report said the airline had not carried out the FAA's suggested inspections as the FAA's 2018 advisory was not a mandate.
But it also said maintenance records showed that the throttle control module, which includes the fuel switches, was replaced in 2019 and 2023 on the plane involved in the crash.
Air India replaced the module on the aircraft in 2019 and 2023 in a planned change after 24,000 flight hours that was not limited to the crashed jet, the source familiar with the matter said.
In an internal memo on Monday, airline CEO Campbell Wilson said the investigation into the crash was far from over and it was unwise to jump to premature conclusions, following the release of the preliminary report.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Nikkei Asia
an hour ago
- Nikkei Asia
EU-China ties at 'inflection point,' von der Leyen says after tense Beijing summit
BEIJING, July 24 (Reuters) -- EU-China trade ties have hit a "clear inflection point," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday in Beijing, capping a tense summit with top Chinese leaders dominated by concerns on commerce and the Ukraine war. Expectations were low for the summit in the Chinese capital marking 50 years of diplomatic ties after weeks of escalating tension and wrangling that led to the duration being abruptly halved to a single day at Beijing's request. "We have very frankly and openly raised our concerns ... on the trade, investment and geopolitical issues. ... We have partially identified solutions," von der Leyen told a press conference after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. When asked about a potential trade deal with the United States, the EU chief said the bloc's focus has been on achieving a negotiated solution but all other instruments are on the table until "we have a satisfactory result." "Our relationship with China is of importance, but it stands on its own merits. It's independent of the actions or issues we have with others," she said. Xi earlier told von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa that the challenges facing Europe do not come from China, urging the bloc to "properly handle differences and frictions." "It is hoped that the European side will keep the trade and investment market open and refrain from using restrictive economic and trade tools," Xi said, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. EU trade actions in the past year have targeted Chinese exports of electric vehicles, among other goods, and its officials have repeatedly complained about Chinese industrial overcapacity as the bloc's trade deficit with China ballooned to a historic 305.8 billion euros ($360 billion) last year. Von der Leyen told the press that the Chinese leadership has started to look into the overcapacity issue and expressed willingness to support more consumption. "We think increasing market access for European companies in China, limiting the external impact of involution, and reducing export controls are important steps forward," she told Premier Li earlier, according to a pool report. She described her meeting with Xi as "excellent." The two sides also issued a joint statement on climate, reiterating their commitment to new climate action plans across the whole economy. They will boost cooperation in areas such as energy transition, adaptation, methane emissions management and control, carbon markets, and green and low-carbon technologies, the joint statement said. At the start of U.S. President Donald Trump's second term, both sides had more of a consensus in working together to tackle trade challenges from the United States, said Cui Hongjian, a foreign policy professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University. "Recently the situation has changed," Cui said. "The EU has continued to compromise with the United States, which means that there is currently a lack of impetus for EU-China ties to become closer." After intense negotiations, the EU is likely to seal a trade deal with the United States for a broad tariff of 15% on its exports, down from 30% threatened by Trump. At Thursday's summit, the EU leaders also conveyed their expectations for China to discourage Russia in its war against Ukraine. "What's important is that we have a ceasefire and negotiations at the table take place, that there is a true and genuine willingness to find solutions to end the bloodshed," von der Leyen said at the press conference. Topics the Europeans brought up in the talks also included China's rare-earth export controls that disrupted supply chains worldwide, causing temporary stoppages in European automotive production lines in May. "We need reliable and secure supplies of critical raw materials from China ... we acknowledge China's efforts on fast-tracking licenses for critical raw materials, and we agreed to have an upgraded export supply mechanism," von der Leyen said. China's exports of rare-earth magnets to the EU surged in June by 245% from May, to stand at 1,364 metric tons, though that was still 35% lower than the year-earlier figure, customs data showed. On Thursday, China's Foreign Ministry defended the rare-earths curbs as being "in line with international practice," while pledging stronger dialogue and cooperation with relevant countries and regions in the field of export controls.
The Diplomat
2 hours ago
- The Diplomat
Trump's Tariffs Aren't the Only US Policy Hurting South Korea's Economy
Any trade deal will also need to address regulatory changes that are degrading South Korean investments in the U.S.. With the August 1 deadline for South Korea to strike a new trade deal with the United States rapidly approaching, Seoul's focus has been on minimizing the potential for significant tariff increases on Korean exports to the United States. However, shifts in regulatory and subsidy policy under the Trump administration are also negatively impacting Korean investments in the United States and should be a part of any negotiations. Over the last three years, Korean firms have invested $114 billion in the United States. Centered in strategic areas such as semiconductors and clean energy, these are significant investments in U.S. manufacturing capacity. However, the Trump administration's turn against clean energy and related products has decreased the long-term potential of much of this investment. Ironically, these regulatory shifts come at a time when Washington is reportedly pushing South Korea to create an outward investment fund to support manufacturing in the United States that could run into the hundreds of billions of dollars. In essence, Trump administration policy is devaluing current Korean investment, while demanding additional investment in the United States to avoid tariffs of 25 percent or more on Korean exports to the United States. In some cases, these policies seemingly undermine Trump administration objectives. Restoring manufacturing to the United States has long been a priority for Donald Trump and has been touted by his administration. The administration has launched a wide range of Section 232 national security investigations focused on the impact of imports on domestic manufacturing and national security, presumably with the intention of addressing the decline in manufacturing in the United States through higher tariffs to incentivize domestic production. The Trump administration has also made restoring dominance as a key goal for the administration but has sent conflicting signals. It initiated a Section 232 investigation into polysilicon, which is used in semiconductors and solar panels. A separate Section 232 investigation into semiconductors already covers some of the uses of polysilicon in semiconductor manufacturing, suggesting that the separate polysilicon investigation relates primarily to its usage in solar panels. Expanding solar power as part of an energy security agenda would also support the administration's objective of maintaining the United States' dominance in AI. This will require significant new amounts of electricity production, with the International Energy Agency expecting AI data centers to account for half of the growth in electricity demand in the United States by 2030. Nominally, the Trump administration's Section 232 investigation into polysilicon imports should be beneficial to Hanwha Q Cells, a Korean firm that manufactures solar panels in the United States. According to the International Energy Agency, China accounts for 93 percent of global manufacturing of polysilicon, making U.S. manufacturers dependent on Chinese sources of polysilicon for the production of solar panels. Hanwha Q Cells is investing $2.5 billion to develop the sole U.S.-sourced supply chain for the production of solar panels in the United States, but has struggled to ease its dependence on China for polysilicon. OCI, another Korean solar manufacturer, is also working to develop a non-China solar power supply chain in the United States utilizing polysilicon from its facilities in Malaysia. While the Section 232 investigation should help Hanwha Q Cells by incentivizing polysilicon production in the United States, there are more significant countervailing forces in U.S. policy that will negatively impact those investments. The Trump administration has introduced a new policy requiring a political review of new solar projects in the United States. Rather than being reviewed by lower-level staff, 68 different actions by the Department of Interior for the deployment of solar panels will now need to be personally approved by Secretary Doug Burgum. Because even projects not on federal land consult with the Interior Department to determine if their projects require permits or are in compliance with federal laws, this new policy has the potential to significantly slow the deployment of solar power in the United States. The One Big Beautiful Bill also moved forward the phase out of solar power subsidies to require construction to begin by July 4 of next year or power to be produced by the end of 2027. The subsidies were originally scheduled to be in place until 2028. Hanwha Q Cells and OCI are not the only Korean firms facing increasing pressure due to policy changes from the Trump administration. Over the last three years, about half of Korean investment into the United States has been in the EV battery sector. Those investments created over 20,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs. Yet these EV battery firms were already under financial pressure even before the removal of the Inflation Reduction Act's $7,500 tax credit under the One Big Beautiful Bill. The financial pressure on Korean EV battery makers will increase with the slowing growth in demand for EVs following the removal of the consumer tax credit. This decline will also impact Hyundai, which just invested $12.6 billion to build its new Metaplant in Georgia to produce 500,000 EVs and hybrid vehicles per year across all of its brands. The regulatory shifts under the Trump administration will only add to the increasing cost pressures manufacturers face from the various Section 232 and anti-dumping investigations on commodities, which will drive up the cost of producing goods in the United States. The proposed 50 percent tariff on copper will increase costs for producers of semiconductors, EVs, and consumer electronics. A new 93.5 percent anti-dumping tariff on graphite, a key material for making EV batteries, will also increase the costs of EV batteries. With reductions in subsidies and increasing regulatory barriers for these industries, production costs will increase will demand for their products will decline. Trump promised a low regulatory environment to boost manufacturing in the United States and to help compensate companies for the new tariffs. That low regulatory environment to date only applies to industries favored by the Trump administration; in other sectors, new policies actually undermine existing manufacturing investments in the United States. Any new trade deal between the United States and South Korea needs to address the negative impact of policy changes on Korean firms to protect US manufacturing and encourage further Korean investment in the United States.
The Diplomat
4 hours ago
- The Diplomat
Malaysian PM Unveils New Measures to Address Rising Cost of Living
Anwar Ibrahim announced a 100-ringgit payment to all adult citizens, and a further reduction in the price of state-subsidized petrol. Malaysia's prime minister yesterday announced a series of measures to address the country's cost of living crisis, including a cash handout for all adult citizens and a small cut to the price of state-subsidized petrol. In a televised briefing, Anwar Ibrahim announced a one-time cash disbursement of 100 ringgit ($24) to all Malaysians aged 18 and above, which he said will be redeemable at more than 4,000 stores beginning on August 31. He added that the government will also freeze planned hikes in toll rates on 10 highways and increase its subsidies for RON95, the cheapest and most popular fuel, reducing the price from 2.05 ringgit ($0.49) per liter to 1.99 ringgit ($0.47). 'The government is sticking to its plan for targeted RON95 petrol subsidies with details to be announced end-September,' Anwar said, as per Bloomberg. 'What's certain is that just like the approach of targeted electricity subsidies, the government gives its assurance that ordinary citizens won't be affected. In fact let me announce that the RON95 petrol price will fall for citizens.' The cash handout is expected to reach around 22 million people and cost the government around 2 billion ringgit ($472 million),. The cost of living has become an increasing subject of popular concern in Malaysia in recent months, which Anwar's opponents have used to attack his government. As Reuters reported, yesterday's announcement came ahead of a protest that opposition parties plan to hold in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, which will call Anwar to step down 'over escalating prices and a failure to deliver on promised reforms.' Police say that they expect between 10,000 and 15,000 people to attend the protest. 'I acknowledge the complaints and accept that the cost of living remains a challenge that must be addressed, even though we have announced various measures thus far,' Anwar said during yesterday's announcement, adding that more initiatives to aid those in poverty will be launched today. Yeah Kim Leng, an economics professor at Sunway University in Kuala Lumpur, told Al Jazeera that Malaysian households, especially low- and middle-income households, 'will welcome the cost-of-living relief provided by the measures.' Addressing the increasing prices of basic goods has been on Anwar's agenda since he took office in late 2022, but he has also sought to reduce the spiraling expense of Malaysia's elaborate system of cost-of-living subsidies, which cover everything from fuel and electricity to rice, flour, and cooking oil. These subsidies cost the Malaysian government around 64.2 billion ringgits ($15.2 billion) in 2023. Just weeks into his term, Anwar announced a plan to review the subsidies, to ensure that they primarily benefit those most in need, rather than all segments of society. He said at the time that the purpose of such support was 'to ease the burden of the poor and of course the rich and the industry should not be enjoying it.' In recent weeks, as Reuters reported, Anwar's administration has carried out a number of measures to boost government revenue. It has raised electricity tariffs on heavy users, including power-hungry data centers. It has also revised its sales tax and expanded the scope of its services tax, a move designed to 'strengthen the country's fiscal position by increasing revenue and broadening the tax base to improve the quality of the social safety net without burdening a majority of the people,' according to the Ministry of Finance. However, critics have voiced fears that higher costs would eventually flow down to ordinary citizens, including lower- and middle-income earners. At a political rally in Alor Setar on July 17, former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad called on Anwar to step down, citing his governance failures, in particular his mismanagement of the national wealth, which had caused hardship for the Malaysian public. 'Today, everyone has gathered here because we face the same problem – our country is wealthy, but the people remain poor. This is clearly the result of incompetent governance,' Mahathir said. Shortly after Anwar took office, I noted that 'tackling concrete cost-of-living challenges, which cut across ethnic and religious lines, is a good way of winning broad support for his multi-ethnic Pakatan Harapan coalition, and defusing claims that it is seeking to undermine Malay privileges.' Conversely, however, failing to address these concerns – or being perceived to fail – could leave Anwar politically vulnerable to attacks from the right-wing Malay populists of the opposition Perikatan Nasional coalition Anwar's premiership is not seriously under threat, but he may continue to struggle to balance the imperative of reducing cost-of-living pressures for ordinary people and maintaining the government's fiscal health.
