New Delhi: India’s aviation watchdog, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has directed all airlines operating Boeing 787 and 737 aircraft to inspect the fuel control switch locking mechanism by July 21. The directive follows preliminary findings from an investigation into Air India Boeing 787 crash on June 12, which revealed that the aircraft’s fuel switches were disengaged moments before the fatal incident.
Although the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had previously raised concerns in a 2018 Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) regarding potential issues with the fuel switch locking feature on specific Boeing aircraft, it had not issued a formal airworthiness directive, indicating the issue was not then deemed a direct safety hazard. Fuel control switches are critical components that manage the delivery of fuel to aircraft engines. Their disengagement can lead to severe engine failure during flight.
“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 NM-18-33 dated 17th December 2018. In the view of above all airline operators of the affected aircraft are hereby advised to complete the inspection required,” the DGCA stated in its directive.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), in its preliminary crash report released Saturday, said both engines on the Boeing 787-8 lost fuel supply within a second of each other shortly after takeoff, triggering confusion among the flight crew. “In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cut off. The other pilot responded that he did not do the same,” the report said.
While the AAIB has not issued any formal recommendations yet, the crash, leaving 260 dead, has prompted urgent precautionary measures across the aviation sector. In a related move, Etihad Airways has instructed its pilots to exercise heightened caution when operating fuel control switches on Boeing 787 aircraft and has ordered immediate inspections of the systems.
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