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Time of India
14-07-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Air India tragedy fallout: DGCA directs airlines to inspect fuel switches in Boeings
Representative image NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: India on Monday directed its airlines using certain Boeing aircraft, like the B737s and B787 Dreamliners, to check fuel control switch locking mechanisms on them by July 21. The regulators and airlines of some other countries, like South Korea and the UAE, are also doing the same. The US Federal Aviation Administration had in December 2018 issued a "special airworthiness information bulletin" regarding potential disengagement of the fuel control switch locking mechanism on certain Boeing planes. The directive comes two days after the release of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's reliminary report which put the fuel control switches centre-stage in its investigation of the June 12 AI 171 crash that killed 270 people. Airlines are required to submit their inspection plans and subsequent reports to DGCA headquarters and relevant regional offices. Half of Air India's Dreamliners cleared in lock switch check It has come to the notice of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation that several operators, internationally as well as domestic, have initiated inspection on their aircraft fleet as per the SAIB NM-18-33," DGCA order said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Beyond Text Generation: An AI Tool That Helps You Write Better Grammarly Install Now Undo The inspection requirement affects a wide range of Boeing aircraft, including various 737 series, 747 models, 757 series, 767 variants, and all 787 models. "Strict adherence to the timeline is essential to ensure continued airworthiness and safety of operations," said the order signed by R B Jamir, director of airworthiness. Air India is learned to have checked half of its 33 Dreamliners over the weekend and found nothing wrong with the locking mechanism of those switches. "As and when the remaining Dreamliners fly to India or to a base that has engineering support, they will be checked too in the next two days," said sources. AI Express is also learned to have checked 26 B737s & 49 B737MAX aircraft and not found any defect on them. Vistara's wet-leased Dreamliners are not registered in India so do not come under the DGCA order. AI had replaced the throttle control module (which houses, among other things, the fuel switches) in 2019 and 2023 on the Dreamliner (VT-ANB) that crashed in Ahmedabad. "However, the reason for the replacement was not linked to the fuel control switch. There has been no defect reported pertaining to the fuel control switch since 2023 on VT-ANB," AAIB's preliminary report says. The preliminary report did not recommend actions to Boeing 787-8 and/or GE GEnx-1B engine operators and manufacturers. "Data downloaded from the forward enhanced airborne flight recorder is being analysed in detail... Investigation is continuing and the investigation team will review and examine additional evidence, records and information that is being sought from the stakeholders," the report said. Meanwhile, news agencies reported that FAA and Boeing have privately issued notifications that the fuel switch locks on Boeing planes are safe. This is not the first time that airlines and regulators worldwide have stepped away from FAA directives to independently take decisions impacting flight safety. In 2019, a day after an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX aircraft crashed, it was grounded by 51 aviation regulators worldwide. The regulators, led by China's Civil Aviation Administration, kept aside FAA's affirmation of B737 MAX's airworthiness. Five months earlier, Indonesian carrier Lion Air's B737 MAX crashed in similar manner during take-off. It was only after the Lion Air crash that Boeing revealed to airlines that it had installed an operating system on the MAX aircraft that lowered the aircraft nose automatically in certain conditions.
Time of India
13-06-2025
- Time of India
Dreamliner lessons: Was homework done before AI-171's fatal flight?
The AI-171 Ahmedabad-London flight crash raises concerns. Past incidents involving Air India's B787 Dreamliners show errors. A similar flight faced fighter jet escort in 2017 due to headset issues. Another flight had engine failure in 2023. Smoke in the cabin caused emergency landings. One aircraft even struck a building. These incidents highlight human error and technical problems. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads New Delhi: What led to the crash of the ill-fated AI-171 Ahmedabad-London flight is, for now, a very turbulent question, especially as it marks the first accident with fatalities involving the Boeing 787-800 Dreamliner. And while that probe gets underway, attention will fall on B787 incidents in India that did not become accidents but reveal a pattern of errors - from human to go far? The same AI-171 Ahmedabad-London flight had to be escorted eight years ago by a fighter aircraft over Hungarian airspace after failing to respond to ATC calls for over 40 minutes. The reason: the speaker on the headset had been "inadvertently" switched was on March 10, 2017. The commander of the flight woke from a 'controlled' rest to find a Hungarian fighter jet flanking the right side of his B787-800. He rushed to his headset, made contact, and was told that Budapest ATC had been trying to communicate with AI-171 for some time. With no response, the air force had been pressed into commander soon realised the speaker on the headphones had been switched off during his permissible controlled rest, while the co-pilot was in charge. He apologised and re-established contact. However, a fighter remained alongside the aircraft until it began its descent into DGCA's incident inquiry report concluded: "The inadvertent operation of speaker volume control switches, probably by the First Officer, has resulted in the loss of communication between the aircraft and the ATC."Barely two years ago, in an incident echoing the Ahmedabad sequence, AI-131 took off from Mumbai to London on August 4, 2023. Just nine minutes into the climb, one of the engines on the same Boeing 787-800 failed."While climbing past 17,000 feet, the crew heard a loud thud, which was followed by EICAS caution ENGINE SURGE L," recorded the DGCA in its inquiry commander issued a 'PAN PAN' call (urgent situation), turned back, chose not to offload fuel, and executed an overweight heavy landing on a single engine. There were no injuries, but a detailed investigation revealed that a high-pressure compressor (HPC) stage 10 blade had been "liberated due to improper installation of locking lugs," leading to the "uncommanded shutdown" of an these two incidents point to pilot and engineering lapses, two others involving smoke in the cabin and emergency landings were caused by technical issues with the Cabin Air Compressor (CAC).On July 16, 2018, AI-380 from Delhi to Singapore, operating on a B787, made a MAYDAY call and diverted to Kolkata for an emergency landing following smoke in the cabin. A similar incident had occurred three years earlier, on October 10, 2015, when another B787 made a safe emergency landing in to the DGCA inquiry, Boeing confirmed that CAC surge had become an "industry issue" and Air India would implement changes as advised by the the most embarrassing incident involving AI's B787 fleet was when one of its aircraft struck a parking building while taxiing into its bay at Stockholm airport. Swedish authorities decided not to investigate after assessing the damage, but the DGCA, as per regulations, while this was the first fatal crash involving a B787-800, the truth is that several incidents - not accidents - have occurred over the past decade and have been duly investigated. Each pointed to different issues - human error, a combination of human misjudgement and mechanical faults, as well as purely technical the Ahmedabad probe unfolds, a key question remains: were the lessons learnt?
