India orders its airlines to check fuel switches on Boeing planes
NEW DELHI: India on Monday ordered its airlines to examine fuel switches on several Boeing models, while South Korea said it would order a similar measure, as scrutiny intensified of fuel switch locks at the centre of an investigation into a deadly Air India crash. The moves by India and South Korea came despite the planemaker and the US 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. The report noted a 2018 advisory from the US 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. 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 and its move raises the stakes for Boeing, whose aircraft are used by three of the country's four largest airlines. A spokesperson for the South Korean transport ministry said checks there were in line with the 2018 advisory from the FAA, but did not give a timeline for them.
Meanwhile, two major commercial pilots' associations have rejected claims human error caused an Air India crash that killed 260 people after a preliminary investigation report found the plane's engine fuel switches had been turned off. The report, issued Saturday by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), did not offer any conclusions or apportion blame for the June 12 disaster, but indicated that one pilot asked the other why he cut off fuel, and the second pilot responded that he had not. No more detail about the cockpit dialogue between the pilots was revealed. The Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) said it was 'deeply disturbed by speculative narratives... particularly the reckless and unfounded insinuation of pilot suicide.'
Boeing referred Reuters' questions to the FAA, which was not immediately available to comment outside regular hours. The company's shares were up 1.4 percent in US premarket trading. Some other global airlines were weighing their own inspections or had begun their own checks. In a statement, Japan's JAL said safety was its top priority, adding, 'We are closely monitoring the investigation into the incident and will implement any necessary inspections based on its findings.'
Over the weekend, Air India Group started checking the locking mechanism on the fuel switches of its Boeing 787 and 737 fleets and has discovered no problems yet, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. 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. On Sunday, citing a document and sources, Reuters reported that the planemaker and the FAA had privately issued notifications to airlines and regulators that the fuel switch locks on Boeing planes were safe and checks were not required. 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.
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 investigation into the crash was far from over and it was unwise to jump to premature conclusions, following the release of the preliminary report. — Agencies
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