India orders airlines to check fuel switches on Boeing jets
A preliminary report, issued Saturday by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, found that the switches had flipped from run position to cutoff shortly after takeoff.
The report did not offer any conclusions or apportion blame for the June 12 disaster, but indicated that one pilot asked the other why he cut off fuel, and the second pilot responded that he had not.
India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued the order Monday to investigate the locking feature on the fuel control switches of several Boeing models, including 787s and 737s.
The order came after Boeing notified operators that the fuel switch locks on its jets were safe.
But it was in line with a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration, which recommended inspection of the locks to ensure they could not be moved accidentally.
Several Indian and international airlines have already begun their own inspections of fuel switches.
'It has come to the notice of DGCA that several operators — internationally as well as domestic — have initiated inspection on their aircraft fleet as per the SAIB,' DGCA said in a statement.
In view of the SAIB, all airline operators of the affected aircraft must complete the inspection by July 21, it added.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was headed from Ahmedabad in western India to London when it crashed, killing all but one of the 242 people on board as well as 19 people on the ground.
In a letter to employees on Monday, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said the investigation into the crash was ongoing and it would be unwise to jump to 'premature conclusions.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
22 minutes ago
- Arab News
IndiGo's revenue slows as India-Pakistan tensions, Air India crash weigh
NEW DELHI: Budget airline IndiGo posted slower first-quarter revenue growth on Wednesday, weighed down by subdued demand following border tensions between India and Pakistan and a fatal Air India crash during the quarter. India's largest carrier by market share reported a 4.7% rise in revenue to 204.96 billion rupees ($2.34 billion) in the April-June quarter, a sharp slowdown from the 17.3% growth logged a year ago. 'The June quarter was shaped by significant external challenges that created headwinds for the entire aviation sector,' Chief Executive Pieter Elbers said in a statement. An April attack on civilians in Indian Kashmir, followed by border clashes between India and Pakistan led to 'hundreds and hundreds of cancelations,' Elbers said in a post-earnings media call. India has blamed Islamabad for the attack, which the latter has denied. Shortly after, an Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad and killed 260 people in June, spurring flying anxiety among many travelers. 'All in all, that has led ... to (have) some impact on the market,' Elbers said, but added that so far, the second quarter appears to be stabilizing. Despite the recent slowdown, IndiGo has benefited from rising incomes, sustained post-pandemic domestic travel demand, along with continued fleet and network expansion. Still, the company posted a lower quarterly profit, bogged down by ballooning foreign exchange losses. Its yield — the average money earned from a passenger for every kilometer traveled — fell 5%. The airline's first-quarter capacity — measured in available seat kilometers — grew 16.4% on-year. The firm had projected a 'mid-teens percentage range' growth in May.
Al Arabiya
22 minutes ago
- Al Arabiya
US to impose 25 pct tariff on India from August 1: Trump
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States will impose a 25 percent tariff on goods imported from India starting on Aug. 1. He said India, which has the world's fifth largest economy, will also face an unspecified penalty on Aug. 1, but did not elaborate on the amount or what it was for. 'While India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country,' Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. 'They have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia's largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE — ALL THINGS NOT GOOD!' India's commerce ministry, which is leading the trade negotiations with the United States, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump's decision dashes hopes of a limited trade agreement between the two countries, which had been under negotiation for several months. US and Indian trade negotiators had held multiple rounds of discussions to resolve contentious issues, particularly over market access for American agricultural and dairy products. Despite progress in some areas, Indian officials resisted opening the domestic market to imports of wheat, corn, rice and genetically modified soybeans, citing risks to the livelihood of millions of Indian farmers. The new tariffs are expected to impact India's goods exports to the US, estimated at around $87 billion in 2024, including labor-intensive products such as garments, pharmaceuticals, gems and jeweler, and petrochemicals. The United States currently has a $45.7 billion trade deficit with India. India now joins a growing list of countries facing higher tariffs under Trump's 'Liberation Day' trade policy, aimed at reshaping US trade relations by demanding greater reciprocity. The White House had previously warned India about its high average applied tariffs — nearly 39 percent on agricultural products, with rates climbing to 45 percent on vegetable oils and around 50 percent on apples and corn. The setback comes despite earlier commitments by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump to conclude the first phase of a trade deal by autumn 2025 and expand bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030, up from $191 billion in 2024.
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
India aviation watchdog finds 263 lapses at Indian airlines in annual audit
India's aviation regulator said on Wednesday it had found 263 safety-related lapses at the country's airlines, including 23 at the largest carrier IndiGo and 51 at the second largest Air India, as part of its regular annual audit. The audits were carried out as part of International Civil Aviation Organization requirements and global best practices, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said on Wednesday, cautioning that higher number of findings are normal for airlines with bigger fleet sizes. Reuters reported on Tuesday that DGCA had found 51 safety lapses at Air India in its July audit, including lack of adequate training for some pilots, use of unapproved simulators and a poor rostering system. The audit was not related to the deadly Boeing 787 crash last month that killed 260 people in Ahmedabad. The DGCA said it had also found 14 deficiencies at SpiceJet and 17 at Vistara, which is now part of Air India. The regulator found 25 lapses at Air India Express, Air India's budget carrier. Akasa Air is yet to be audited. The regulator did not detail what kind of lapses were found but divided the list of breaches into 'Level I', which are significant breaches, and 'Level II', which are other non-compliances. In total, 19 'Level I' breaches were found at Indian airlines, the DGCA said.
