Some airlines checking Boeing fuel switches after Air India crash
The precautionary moves by India, South Korea and some airlines in other countries came despite the planemaker and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration telling airlines and regulators in recent days that the fuel switch locks on Boeing jets are safe.
The locks have come under scrutiny following last month's crash of an Air India jet, which killed 260 people.
A preliminary report found that the switches had almost simultaneously flipped from run position to cutoff shortly after takeoff. 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 report noted a 2018 advisory from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which recommended, but did not mandate, operators of several Boeing models including the 787 to inspect the locking feature of fuel cutoff switches to ensure they could not be moved accidentally.
Fatal Air India crash probe 'far from over' says CEO days after prelim report
India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation said it had issued an order to investigate locks on several Boeing models including 787s and 737s, after several Indian and international airlines began making their own inspections of fuel switches.
The regulator oversees the world's third-largest and fastest-growing aviation market. Boeing planes are used by three of the country's four largest airlines.
Precautionary checks
Some airlines around the world told Reuters they had been checking relevant switches since 2018 in accordance with the FAA advisory, including Australia's Qantas Airways and Japan's ANA.
Others said they had been making additional or new checks since the release of the preliminary report into the Air India crash.
Singapore Airlines said on Tuesday that precautionary checks on the fuel switches of its 787 fleet, including planes used by its low-cost subsidiary Scoot, confirmed all were functioning properly.
Air India crash report shows pilot confusion over engine switch movement
A spokesperson for the South Korean transport ministry said checks there would be in line with the 2018 advisory from the FAA, but did not give a timeline for them.
Flag carrier Korean Air Lines said on Tuesday it had proactively begun inspecting fuel control switches and would implement any additional requirements the transport ministry may have.
Japan Airlines said it was conducting inspections in accordance with the 2018 advisory.
Boeing referred Reuters' questions to the FAA, which did not respond to a request for comment. Boeing shares closed 1.6% higher on Monday after there were no recommended actions in the report aimed at operators of 787 jets or the GE engines.
Over the weekend, Air India Group started checking the locking mechanism on the fuel switches of its 787 and 737 fleets and has discovered no problems yet, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.
Indian investigators told lawmakers black boxes undamaged in Air India crash, sources say
About half the group's 787s have been inspected and nearly all its 737s, the source added, speaking on condition of anonymity. Inspections were set to be completed in the next day or two.
The Air India crash preliminary report said the airline had not carried out the FAA's suggested inspections as the FAA's 2018 advisory was not a mandate.
But it also said maintenance records showed that the throttle control module, which includes the fuel switches, was replaced in 2019 and 2023 on the plane involved in the crash.
In an internal memo on Monday, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said the preliminary report found no mechanical or maintenance faults and that all required maintenance had been carried out.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
an hour ago
- Business Recorder
India's June gold imports fall to two-year low as record price dents demand
MUMBAI: India's gold imports in June fell 40% from a year ago to their lowest level in more than two years, as a price rally to a record high sapped demand, a government and two industry officials told Reuters. Imports to India, the world's second-largest gold consumer, fell to 21 tons, the lowest since April 2023, said a government official, who declined to be named as he was not authorised to talk to the media. In value terms, gold imports fell to $1.84 billion in June from $2.48 billion a year ago, the official said. In the past decade, on average, India imported 52.4 tons of gold in June. In the first half of 2025, India's gold imports fell 30% from a year ago to 204.1 tons, the lowest since the first half of 2020, when the COVID-19 outbreak led to lockdown, the trade ministry data showed. The rapid surge in prices has been discouraging retail buyers from making jewellery purchases, said Ashok Jain, proprietor of Mumbai-based gold wholesaler Chenaji Narsinghji. Domestic prices hit an all-time high of 101,078 rupees per 10 grams in June. Gold prices have risen 27% so far this year after rising 21% in 2024. Gold imports would remain subdued even in July, as demand is still tepid because of higher prices, Jain said. Silver imports in June nearly doubled from a year ago to 197 tons, but were significantly lower than the 544 tons imported in May, the government official said. In recent months, Indian investors, traditionally obsessed with stockpiling gold, are increasingly turning to silver , as its returns this year outpaced those of gold.
Express Tribune
3 hours ago
- Express Tribune
From maps to minerals
Listen to article China's recent actions on India's northern frontier have gone beyond mere symbolism. From altering maps to weaponising minerals, the intent is clear: to recast geopolitical narratives in Beijing's favour while undermining India's sovereignty. The depiction of Jammu & Kashmir as "Occupied Kashmir" and Arunachal Pradesh as "South Tibet" on official Chinese maps is a strategic move, not a cartographic slip. It is the sign of ever-tougher stance, as geography is turned into the instrument of policy — or, rather, the instrument of influence. Take for instance the re-designation of Ladakh as "Chinese territory" and the integration of Aksai Chin into Xinjiang's administrative structure. These are bureaucratic acts with military and diplomatic weight. When a state sets on the institutionalisation of its claims, it is not just doing the same in preparation of international negotiations, but long-term strategic consolidation as well. The Line of Actual Control which was infested with tensions experiences even more tensions when such pressures are mounted. Yet the map is only one layer. Economic coercion now forms a parallel front. It is not surprising to see China suspending its export of rare earth magnets to India especially since the magnets are important in both the auto industry and the defence sector. This is following the India blockade of any Chinese tech firms such as Huawei or TikTok. In that regard, China is playing with power of dominance in its critical supply chains. It is not just retaliation on India although it must be seen as sending a common message: decoupling with China has its costs. This pressure is so subtle and effective that it makes it insidious. To make the situation worse, India is caught between a two-front dilemma. Those stand-offs with border contention against China and Pakistan are getting combined. Be that as it may, the strategic net is woven the same way; Indian bandwidth is exhausted. It has to cope not only with physical defence but with the economic and diplomatic effect of two antagonist sides. This will have a pinch effect as the regional fault-lines intensify which can be seen to create a weak spot in India in terms of military deterrence as well as economic resilience. Compounding the challenge, China, with its expanding regional influence and growing engagement in South Asian geopolitics, is subtly positioning itself as a potential arbiter in the Kashmir issue, thereby inserting itself into one of India's most sensitive domestic matters. Meanwhile, the Pak-China synergy, going beyond CPEC, is matured into an enlarged regional combination that is currently extending to the incorporation of Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asia. These backbones are not merely economic backbones, they are turning around the strategic houses of the region. The outreach via Afghanistan is associated with several advantages: it enhances the use of transit, the reconstruction, and the prevention of extremism along vulnerable boundaries. A more stable western frontier of Pakistan and China is an economic advantage as well as cushioning them against unrest spilling over from Afghanistan. Ultimately, the lines being redrawn - both on maps and through policies - reveal a seismic shift. China, with Pakistan as a strategic partner, is not just challenging India. It is reshaping South Asia's geopolitical reality. For India, the response must go beyond reaction. It must think in terms of long-term regional recalibration, economic self-reliance and narrative control. It's because the battlefield now stretches from borders to supply chains, from digital bans to diplomatic boards. And in this new terrain, ambiguity is no longer an option.
Business Recorder
5 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Trump says US will stick to 25% tariff on Japan, may have deal with India soon
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the U.S. will probably 'live by the letter' on tariffs with Japan and may have another trade deal coming up with India, following his announcement of an accord with Indonesia on Tuesday. 'We have some pretty good deals to announce,' Trump told reporters at the start of a meeting with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa at the White House. He said he would also discuss trade issues with the Bahraini leader. 'The big one really is going to be on the 150 countries that we're really not negotiating with, and they're smaller – we don't do much business with.' On July 7, Trump announced 25% tariffs on imports from Japan and South Korea, effective August 1. He also announced separate rates for a number of other countries. On Tuesday, he said letters would be going out soon to dozens of smaller countries notifying them their goods would face a tariff rate of over 10%. He said those smaller countries would receive a 'notice of payment' with a uniform tariff rates for the whole group. The deal with Indonesia is among the handful struck so far by the Trump administration ahead of an August 1 deadline when duties on most U.S. imports are due to rise again. The European Union and Canada, meanwhile, are readying countermeasures if their talks with the U.S. fail to produce a deal. Yen stumbles as Trump imposes 25% tariffs on Japan Trump has said he does not expect to reach a broader deal with Japan. Trump's trade moves have upended decades of negotiated reductions in global trade barriers. They have unsettled international financial markets and stoked worries about a new wave of inflation. Kevin Hassett, Trump's top economic adviser, told Fox News that 'a whole bunch' of additional trade deals would be announced very soon, but gave no details. He said Trump's strict August 1 deadline had spurred a flurry of new activity, including talks with countries that had not previously been in touch. Trump on Wednesday repeated his prediction of a deal with India, which faces a 26% tariff rate, but gave no details. An Indian trade delegation arrived in Washington on Monday for fresh talks, with more officials expected to arrive Wednesday. European Union trade chief Maros Sefcovic also headed to Washington on Wednesday for tariff talks, an EU spokesperson told Reuters. He plans to meet U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Trump has threatened a 30% tariff on imports from the EU from August 1, a level Europe says is unacceptable and would end normal trade between two of the world's largest markets. Greer, Trump's top trade negotiator, told business executives in Detroit, that he was focused on shrinking the $1.2 trillion U.S. trade deficit and stemming the loss of U.S. advanced manufacturing capacity. Trump's tariff policies called for a universal tariff rate of 10% on all countries, with higher rates for the most 'problematic' ones, including China, which has the highest tariff rate of 55%, Greer said, adding the president was willing to negotiate if countries want to invest.
