Latest news with #fuelcontrol
The Independent
7 hours ago
- The Independent
Boeing flight diverted to check fuel switches amid Air India crash investigation
An India-bound Boeing aircraft was forced to return to Abu Dhabi for fuel control switch checks amid ongoing investigations into the Air India crash. Etihad Airways flight EY352, travelling from the UAE capital to Hyderabad, India, turned back to Abu Dhabi under an engineering work order mid-flight on Sunday (13 July), the Times of India reported. The order to check the locking mechanism on fuel supply switches came shortly after a preliminary report by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) was made public on Saturday. According to FlightAware data, the Boeing 787-9 aircraft departed Abu Dhabi at 10pm local time before it was diverted to its departure airport. The Etihad flight was one and a half hours into the almost four-hour journey to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation has ordered airlines to inspect the fuel switches on certain aircraft, including Boeing 787s and 737s, following the fatal Air India crash on 12 June. The crash of flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 headed to London Gatwick, killed 260 people. The preliminary Air India report found that the fuel switches for the engines of the Air India jet, which crashed last month, almost simultaneously flipped to cutoff seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad. It said: 'In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff? The other pilot responded that he did not do so.' South Korea's Transport Ministry introduced similar inspections of fuel switch locks for domestic airlines on Tuesday. The UAE flag carrier airline said: 'Etihad always ensures its maintenance is fully compliant,' in a statement to The Times. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has advised checks for a locking system failure in the fuel control on Boeing models since 2018, following complaints from pilots about faulty installations; however, these checks are not mandatory. For this reason, the Air India crash preliminary report found the airline had not carried out the FAA's suggested fuel switch inspections. Significantly, the report says: 'At this stage of investigation, there are no recommended actions to B787-8 and/or GE GEnx-1B engine operators and manufacturers.' This suggests no evidence of a technical fault that might jeopardise similar aircraft. The US FAA responded to growing concerns by insisting the fuel switch used on the aircraft was safe. Air India announced on Tuesday (15 July) the 'partial restoration' of flight schedules that had been reduced during a 'safety pause' following the tragic accident.
CNA
20 hours ago
- Business
- CNA
SIA, Scoot carry out checks on Boeing 787 fuel switches following Air India crash preliminary report
SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Scoot have checked the fuel switches of the Boeing 787 aircraft in their fleets, SIA said on Tuesday (Jul 15). This comes after the release of a preliminary report on Jul 12 into the Air India crash last month that killed 260 people, which thrust Boeing engine fuel cutoff switches into the spotlight. The report showed that the crash occurred because the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner's fuel control switches were moved from the "run" to "cutoff" position, starving the engines of fuel. It raised the question of how the switches could have been flipped, given the design of these controls. In response to CNA queries, SIA said: 'As a precautionary measure, SIA and Scoot have carried out and completed checks on the fuel switches of the Boeing 787 aircraft in our fleet.' 'The safety of our customers and staff is our top priority,' it added. CNA has contacted SIA to ask about the outcome of the checks, as well as the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) for comment. SIA's move follows that of other airlines inspecting the fuel switches of their own fleet. India on Monday ordered its airlines to examine fuel switches on several Boeing models after several Indian and international airlines began making their own inspections. South Korea said it would order a similar measure, while Japan's JAL said it would 'implement any necessary inspections based on its findings'. On Sunday, citing a document and sources, Reuters reported that the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeing have privately issued notifications that the fuel switch locks on Boeing planes are safe. The FAA's notification to Civil Aviation Authorities, seen by Reuters, said: "Although the fuel control switch design, including the locking feature, is similar on various Boeing airplane models, the FAA does not consider this issue to be an unsafe condition that would warrant an Airworthiness Directive on any Boeing airplane models, including the Model 787." THE REPORT The preliminary report showed that the switches to the engines were moved from the 'run' to the 'cutoff' position almost simultaneously which starved the engines of fuel. In the cockpit recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why he cutoff the engine. The other pilot responded that he did not do so. The plane quickly began to lose altitude. The report did not say how the switches could have flipped during the flight. Both switches transitioned back from 'cutoff' to 'run' seconds later, but it was too late to stop the plane's descent. In a 2018 advisory, the FAA had 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. The Air India preliminary report said the airline had not carried out the FAA's suggested inspections as it was not a mandate. In an internal memo on Monday, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said that the investigation into the crash is 'far from over'. He added that the airline is open to further inquiries and warned against 'premature conclusions'.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
FAA says Boeing fuel switches are safe following fatal Air India crash
The US Federal Aviation Administration has issued a notice to its international counterparts that fuel control switches in Boeing Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Independent
4 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Fuel to Air India plane was cut off moments before crash, investigation report says
Fuel control switches for the engines of an Air India flight that crashed last month were moved from the 'run' to the 'cutoff' position moments before impact, starving both engines of fuel, a preliminary investigation report said early Saturday. The report, issued by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, also indicated that both pilots were confused over the change to the switch setting, which caused a loss of engine thrust shortly after takeoff. The Air India flight — a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner — crashed on June 12 and killed at least 260 people, including 19 on the ground, in the northwestern city of Ahmedabad. Only one passenger survived the crash, which is one of India's worst aviation disasters. The plane was carrying 230 passengers — 169 Indians, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian — along with 12 crew members. According to the report, the flight lasted around 30 seconds between takeoff and crash. It said that once the aircraft achieved its top recorded speed, 'the Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another" within a second. The report did not say how the switches could have flipped to the cutoff position during the flight. The movement of the fuel control switches allow and cut fuel flow to the plane's engines. The switches were flipped back into the run position, the report said, but the plane could not gain power quickly enough to stop its descent after the aircraft had begun to lose altitude. 'One of the pilots transmitted ''MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY',' the report said. It also indicated confusion in the cockpit moments before the crash. In the flight's final moment, one pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel. 'The other pilot responded that he did not do so,' the report said. The plane's black boxes — combined cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders — were recovered in the days following the crash and later downloaded in India. Indian authorities had also ordered deeper checks of Air India's entire fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliner to prevent future incidents. Air India has 33 Dreamliners in its fleet.
