Air India says no issues found in Boeing 787 and 737 fuel control switches
The probe into the Air India crash that killed 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground is focused on the fuel control switches of the Boeing 787 jetliner, with a final report from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) expected within a year of the incident.
The switches control fuel flow to aircraft engines, allowing pilots to start or shut them down on the ground, or manually intervene during in-flight engine failures.
Air India began voluntary inspections of the switches on July 12. India's aviation regulator soon ordered all domestic carriers to conduct similar checks, prompting some foreign airlines and regulators to follow suit.
A preliminary report from the AAIB earlier this month found the switches had almost simultaneously flipped from 'run' to 'cutoff' shortly after takeoff, causing the engines to lose power.
The report cited a 2018 FAA advisory that urged operators of several Boeing models, including the 787, to inspect the locking mechanism on fuel cutoff switches to prevent unintentional movement.
The FAA and Boeing have privately issued notifications that the fuel switch locks on Boeing planes are safe, Reuters had reported.
Reuters reported last week, citing a source, that the cockpit recording on the Air India flight from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick suggested the captain cut fuel to the engines.
The AAIB has said it is too early to draw any conclusions.
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9 hours ago
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Air India says no issues found in Boeing 787 and 737 fuel control switches
Air India said on Tuesday it has completed precautionary inspections of the fuel control switch locking mechanism on all its Boeing 787 and 737 aircraft, with no issues detected. The probe into the Air India crash that killed 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground is focused on the fuel control switches of the Boeing 787 jetliner, with a final report from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) expected within a year of the incident. The switches control fuel flow to aircraft engines, allowing pilots to start or shut them down on the ground, or manually intervene during in-flight engine failures. Air India began voluntary inspections of the switches on July 12. India's aviation regulator soon ordered all domestic carriers to conduct similar checks, prompting some foreign airlines and regulators to follow suit. A preliminary report from the AAIB earlier this month found the switches had almost simultaneously flipped from 'run' to 'cutoff' shortly after takeoff, causing the engines to lose power. The report cited a 2018 FAA advisory that urged operators of several Boeing models, including the 787, to inspect the locking mechanism on fuel cutoff switches to prevent unintentional movement. The FAA and Boeing have privately issued notifications that the fuel switch locks on Boeing planes are safe, Reuters had reported. Reuters reported last week, citing a source, that the cockpit recording on the Air India flight from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick suggested the captain cut fuel to the engines. The AAIB has said it is too early to draw any conclusions. Air India operates a fleet of Boeing 787 twin-aisle jets on its long-haul operations, while low-cost unit Air India Express operates the Boeing 737 single-aisle jets.
ARN News Center
a day ago
- ARN News Center
Air India says no issues found in Boeing 787 and 737 fuel control switches
Air India said on Tuesday it has completed precautionary inspections of the fuel control switch locking mechanism on all its Boeing 787 and 737 aircraft, with no issues detected. The probe into the Air India crash that killed 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground is focused on the fuel control switches of the Boeing 787 jetliner, with a final report from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) expected within a year of the incident. The switches control fuel flow to aircraft engines, allowing pilots to start or shut them down on the ground, or manually intervene during in-flight engine failures. Air India began voluntary inspections of the switches on July 12. India's aviation regulator soon ordered all domestic carriers to conduct similar checks, prompting some foreign airlines and regulators to follow suit. A preliminary report from the AAIB earlier this month found the switches had almost simultaneously flipped from 'run' to 'cutoff' shortly after takeoff, causing the engines to lose power. The report cited a 2018 FAA advisory that urged operators of several Boeing models, including the 787, to inspect the locking mechanism on fuel cutoff switches to prevent unintentional movement. The FAA and Boeing have privately issued notifications that the fuel switch locks on Boeing planes are safe, Reuters had reported. Reuters reported last week, citing a source, that the cockpit recording on the Air India flight from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick suggested the captain cut fuel to the engines. The AAIB has said it is too early to draw any conclusions.
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Oman Air enhances fuel switch checks on Boeing fleet
Muscat: National carrier Oman Air confirmed that it has carried out precautionary checks on the fuel switch mechanisms on its Boeing 787 and 737 fleet. Confirming this in an exclusive interview with Times of Oman, Captain Nasser Al Salmi, Chief Operating Officer of Oman Air, said, 'In line with regulatory guidance, we have conducted extra fuel switch checks on all of our Boeing 787 and 737 aircraft as a precautionary measure and as part of our ongoing commitment to the highest safety standards.' Oman Air has eight Boeing 787 aircraft and 23 Boeing 737 aircraft. While Boeing and the United States Federal Aviation Administration have affirmed the safety of the fuel switch locks, several airlines – including Oman Air, Etihad and Singapore Airlines – have opted to take additional precautionary steps in the interest of operational assurance and safety continuity. India's civil aviation regulator has issued a directive for airlines to conduct precautionary inspections of the fuel switch locking mechanisms on all Boeing 787 and 737 aircraft by July 21. This directive comes in the wake of a recent technical review and supports the industry's focus on continuous safety enhancement. On Monday, Etihad, the second-largest airline in the United Arab Emirates, urged all its pilots to check the fuel switches on 787 aircraft in its fleet. India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's (AAIB) preliminary report, released in the early hours of Saturday, said the fuel control switches were found in the 'cutoff' position, triggering a global debate over whether pilot action or mechanical failure caused India's worst single-aircraft aviation disaster. Fuel switches are crucial components in the heart of an aircraft's cockpit that control the flow of fuel to the engines. The twin-engine Boeing 787, which crashed in Ahmedabad, has one switch for each engine. The switches sit underneath the throttle handles in the cockpit's centre console, positioned where pilots' hands naturally rest during critical flight phases. Physical brackets guard each switch on both sides, making it impossible to accidentally brush against them. A spring-loaded mechanism requires pilots to pull each switch upward against resistance before it can be moved. © Muscat Media Group Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
