Air India says fuel control switches of all its Boeing planes checked, ‘no issues found with them'
NEW DELHI: Air India on Tuesday said it has completed checks on the locking mechanism of fuel control switch (FCS) on all its Boeing 787s & also the B737s in AI Express fleet and found nothing wrong with the same.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had last Monday directed these checks on all Boeing aircraft used by Indian operators/
'Air India has completed precautionary inspections on the locking mechanism of FCS on all Boeing 787 and Boeing 737 aircraft in its fleet. Boeing 737 aircraft are part of the fleet of Air India Express, AI's low-cost subsidiary. With this, the two airlines have complied with the DGCA's July 14 directives. In the inspections, no issues were found with the said locking mechanism. Air India had started voluntary inspections on 12 July and completed them within the prescribed time limit set by the DGCA,' the airline said in a statement
'The same has been communicated to the regulator.
Air India remains committed to the safety of passengers and crew members,' it added.
The Indian DGCA and airlines of some other countries like South Korea and the UAE had also directed checks on FCS of Boeing aircraft following the June 12 AI 171 crash in Ahmedabad. The preliminary probe report said fuel supply to both engines of the AI B787 had got cut off as fuel cutoff switches of the London-bound Dreamliner's engine 1 and 2 transitioned from 'run' to 'cutoff' position one after another with a time gap of a second.
by Taboola
by Taboola
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While it is not yet known how and why the switches were turned off, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had in December 2018 issued a 'special airworthiness information bulletin' (SAIB), regarding potential disengagement of fuel control switch locking mechanism on certain Boeing planes.
Since that 'airworthiness concern was not considered an unsafe condition' and 'the suggested inspections were not carried out (by Air India) as the SAIB was advisory and not mandatory,' says the AI 171 prelim report.
However, after the AI 171 crash, the checks were ordered.
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