Latest news with #AirworthinessDirective
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Safety notices raised alerts on B787 fuel valves, switches
KOLKATA: A day after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation belatedly ordered checks on the fuel control switches of Boeing aircraft, including B787 and B737, based on a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) NM-18-33 issued by US regulator Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) on December 17, 2018, another Airworthiness Directive (AD) issued by FAA on fuel shutoff valves on September 19, 2015, has come to light. This AD, which required mandatory compliance, was flagged again by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) a month later, issuing a safety notice requiring airlines to mandatorily check fuel shutoff valves on Boeing aircraft. It specifically mentioned that while fuel shutoff valves on various Boeing aircraft, including B737, B757, B767, and B777, require inspection, those on B787 needed to be replaced. The AI plane that crashed on June 12 was a B787 Dreamliner. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata The preliminary crash investigation report also established that the crash was due to the plane losing thrust as fuel to the engines was cut off. While the report mentions transitioning the fuel switch from ON to CUT OFF and back to ON, a section of pilots says this sequence was required to be carried out by pilots as per the Boeing manual in case fuel flow to the engines ceased. The 2015 AD, the 2019 SAIB, as well as the reflagging of the valve problem by CAA, point to an inherent issue with the throttle control module used in B787 aircraft and not just the fuel switches hinted at in the crash preliminary report. The CAA safety notice (no. SN-2015/005) issued on May 15, 2025, less than a month before the June 12 AI crash, reiterates the 2015 AD issued by FAA. It reads: "...the fuel shutoff valve actuators on the B787 which require replacement, test and/or inspection..." "The Continuing Airworthiness Management Organization (CAMO) for operators of B787 aircraft should immediately make themselves aware of the relevant AD and establish whether it affects any aircraft... The operation check AD must be documented in the Operations Manual along with reference to the AD number," the notice added. Aviation safety experts and airline pilots said the AD is absolutely critical. An airline official said Indian carriers are mandated to follow the ADs issued by DGCA. The CAA AD requires compliance by UK airlines. They acknowledge that the AD issued by FAA in September 2015 needed to be mandatorily acted upon and said the DGCA issued the concerned AD in 2015. AI back then was under govt management. Airline sources said the necessary actions were taken. UK aviation regulator CAA issued safety notice (no. SN-2015/005) on May 15, 2025, requiring valve replacement and checks in B787 aircraft. The safety notice was based on an Airworthiness Directive (AD) issued on September 19, 2015, by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), US, addressing a potential unsafe condition affecting fuel shutoff valves installed on various Boeing aircraft. DGCA issued an AD on the fuel control valves in 2015 following the FAA alert. But there was no mention of it in the preliminary crash investigation report issued by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau. Instead, the report mentioned an FAA Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) NM-18-33 dated December 17, 2018, that warned of the potential disengagement of the fuel control switch locking feature. This was not mandatory in nature and hence not acted upon, it stated. On July 14, 2025, DGCA issued a circular ordering checks of fuel control switches on B787 and B737 aircraft.
Time of India
14 hours ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Safety notices raise alerts on B787 fuel valves, switches
1 2 3 Kolkata: A day after DGCA ordered checks on fuel control switches of Boeing aircraft based on a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) NM-18-33 issued by US regulator Federal Aviation Authority in Dec 17, 2018, an Airworthiness Directive (AD) issued by FAA on Sept 19, 2015, on fuel shutoff valves has come to light. This AD, which required mandatory compliance, was flagged again a month later by UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which issued a safety notice requiring airlines to check fuel shutoff valves on Boeing aircraft. It mentioned that while fuel shutoff valves on aircraft, including B737, B757, B767, and B777, required inspection, those on B787s needed to be replaced. The AI plane that crashed on June 12 was a B787 Dreamliner. The preliminary investigation report also established that the crash was due to the plane losing thrust as fuel to the engines was cut off. While the report mentions transitioning the fuel switch from ON to CUT OFF and back to ON, some pilots say this sequence was required to be carried out in case fuel flow to the engines ceased, per the Boeing manual. The 2015 AD, the 2018 SAIB as well as the valve problem being raised again by CAA point to an inherent issue with the throttle control module used in B787 aircraft, and not just the fuel switches hinted at in the preliminary report. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Pernas e tornozelos inchados? Descubra o que pode ajudar a drenar agora aartedoherbalismo Undo You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata The CAA safety notice (SN-2015/005) issued on May 15, 2025, less than a month before the June 12 Air India crash, reiterated the 2015 AD issued by FAA. It reads: "...the fuel shutoff valve actuators on the B787... require replacement, test and/or inspection..." "The Continuing Airworthiness Management Organisation (CAMO) for operators of B787 aircraft should immediately make themselves aware of the relevant AD and establish whether it affects any aircraft... The operation check AD must be documented in the Operations Manual along with reference to the AD number," the notice added. Aviation safety experts and airline pilots said the AD was absolutely critical. An airline official said Indian carriers were mandated to follow the ADs issued by DGCA, while the CAA AD requires compliance by UK airlines. They acknowledged that the AD issued by FAA in Sept 2015 needed to be compulsorily acted upon and said DGCA issued the AD concerned in 2015. AI was under govt management back then. Airline sources said necessary action was taken.
Canada News.Net
17 hours ago
- Business
- Canada News.Net
India crash probe triggers review, but FAA sees no fuel fault
WASHINGTON/NEW DELHI/MONTREAL: Amid scrutiny following a fatal Boeing 787 crash in India, U.S. aviation regulators and Boeing have privately affirmed that the fuel cutoff switch design on Boeing aircraft is safe and does not require immediate corrective action. A Continued Airworthiness Notification issued by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on July 11 stated it did not consider the fuel control switch design to pose an unsafe condition, even though it was cited in a preliminary Indian investigation into last month's Air India crash that killed 260 people. The FAA's notice, 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." In a separate message to airline operators, Boeing echoed the FAA's stance and said no action is currently being recommended, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The preliminary report by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) noted that Air India had not performed a 2018 FAA-recommended inspection of fuel cutoff switch locks, as the advisory was not mandatory. The report cited cockpit voice data in which one pilot asks the other why the fuel was cut off, and the other replies, "I did not do so." Both switches had flipped from "run" to "cutoff" shortly after takeoff. Pilot union ALPA India rejected early assumptions of pilot error and demanded to be included as observers in the ongoing probe. "The pilots' body must now be made part of the probe, at least as observers," said ALPA India President Sam Thomas. Two U.S. safety experts also supported ALPA India's request, though they said the AAIB's report did not appear biased.
News18
a day ago
- Automotive
- News18
UK Regulator Flagged Boeing 787 Fuel Switch Risks Weeks Before Air India Crash: Report
Last Updated: The FAA directive specifically called attention to fuel shutoff valve actuators, raising them as a possible safety hazard. Just four weeks before the deadly crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8 aircraft in Ahmedabad, the UK's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had issued a formal safety notice highlighting concerns related to fuel control systems in several Boeing aircraft, including the 787 Dreamliner, India Today reported. According to the report, on May 15, the UK's CAA released a Safety Notice urging operators of five Boeing aircraft types, including the 787, to examine whether their fleets were affected by a US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airworthiness Directive (AD). The FAA directive specifically called attention to fuel shutoff valve actuators, raising them as a possible safety hazard. The UK regulator instructed that daily checks must be carried out. The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) issued a safety notice highlighting a potential hazard involving fuel shutoff valves installed on multiple Boeing aircraft models, including the 737, 757, 767, 777, and 787. Citing a US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airworthiness Directive (AD), the CAA urged airline operators to take immediate precautionary measures, specifically to test, inspect, or replace the fuel shutoff valve actuators on the affected aircraft types. After preliminary findings from the investigation into the June 12 crash of Air India flight AI-171, major international airlines have started inspecting the fuel control switch locking mechanisms on their Boeing 787 aircraft, according to a report. The directive came just after an initial probe report of the plane crash involving an Air India flight AI-171, which resulted in 270 fatalities, was released. Etihad Airways issued an internal instruction on July 13 directing engineers to examine the locking mechanisms on its Boeing 787 aircraft, specifically referencing aircraft registered as A6-BLI. According to the AAIB, cockpit audio recorded a conversation between the pilots, with one asking, 'Why did you cut off (the fuel supply)?" The other responded that he had not done so. The Boeing 787's fuel control switches are designed with a locking system that prevents unintentional movement. The switch must be lifted before being moved into position—either forward to initiate fuel supply (RUN) or backwards to stop it (CUTOFF). view comments Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
India Today
a day ago
- Automotive
- India Today
UK regulator flagged Boeing fuel switches four weeks before Air India crash
Just four weeks before an Air India Boeing 787-8 crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, the UK's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had flagged fuel control switches on several Boeing planes and ordered daily UK aviation regulator issued a safety notice on May 15 instructing operators of five Boeing models, including the 787 Dreamliner, to review a US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airworthiness Directive (AD) -- a legally enforceable regulation to correct unsafe conditions in a product -- and determine whether it affected their fleet. The FAA directive had flagged fuel shutoff valve actuators as a potential safety FAA has issued an Airworthiness Directive (AD) addressing a potential unsafe condition affecting fuel shutoff valves installed on the following Boeing aircraft: B737, B757, B767, B777, B787," the CAA notice read. A fuel shut-off valve is a safety device that stops the flow of fuel to the engine, typically used for maintenance, in case of an engine fire, or during forced landings. It is a key component that helps prevent fuel leaks and ensures the safe operation of the aircraft. The UK regulator directed airline operators to test, inspect, or replace fuel shutoff valve actuators on Boeing 787s, among the safety notice specifically ordered that daily checks of the fuel shutoff valves be carried out on aircraft impacted by the matter came to the fore after the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) of India noted in its preliminary report on the Air India crash that fuel control switches, which regulate the flow of fuel to each engine, unexpectedly moved to 'CUTOFF' shortly after liftoff, which caused both engines to shut FAA, in a notification issued on July 11, stated the fuel control switch design does not pose any safety risks, and Boeing echoed that view in guidance to global airlines. However, the UK CAA's directive in May mandated urgent operator-level action, with checks required and compliance to be to reports, Air India replaced the Throttle Control Module (TCM), which houses the fuel control switches, on the crashed Dreamliner in 2019 and 2023, in line with Boeing's standard maintenance the AAIB preliminary report found that Air India didn't inspect the locking mechanism of the fuel cutoff switches, as recommended by a 2018 FAA advisory. The airline maintains that as the advisory wasn't mandatory, it did not carry out the Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said in an internal communication that the initial findings of the probe "identified no cause nor made any recommendations", and urged against drawing premature conclusions about who is at fault for the deadly crash.- Ends
