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Time of India
17-07-2025
- Time of India
'Selective and unverified': Investigator calls out international media reports on Air India crash; says 'too early to reach definite conclusions'
NEW DELHI: The Air India crash investigator called out the international media for "selective and unverified" reporting on the June 12 Air India crash and said that such actions are "irresponsible. " This came after the American publication "Wall Street Journal" claimed that a cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots of the Air India flight that crashed last month indicates the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane's engines. In the statement, the AAIB said that the ill-fated Air India's B787-8 aircraft VT-ANB accident has been the most devastating incident in recent aviation history and the investigation is being undertaken in a rigorous and most professional manner in accordance with the Rules and international protocols. Slamming the international media, the AAIB said that this is not the time to create public anxiety or angst towards safety of Indian Aviation Industry, particularly on the basis of unfounded facts. "It has come to our attention that certain sections of the international media are repeatedly attempting to draw conclusions through selective and unverified reporting. Such actions are irresponsible, especially while the investigation remains ongoing. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The Most Successful Way of Intraday Trading is "Market Profile" TradeWise Learn More Undo We urge both the public and the media to refrain from spreading premature narratives that risk undermining the integrity of the investigative process," the AAIB said in a statement. AAIB also asked to to not to reach to any definite conclusions until the investigation by them is not completed and added that the report will come out with root causes and recommendations. "The purpose of the AAIB's investigation and preliminary report is to provide information about 'WHAT' happened. The preliminary report has to be seen in this light. At this stage, it is too early to reach to any definite conclusions. The investigation by AAIB is still not complete. The Final Investigation Report will come out with root causes and recommendations," it said in a statement. AAIB appealed to all concerned to await publication of Final Investigation Report after completion of the Investigation. AAIB will also publish updates as and when required which have technical and public interest.
The Hindu
15-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
India Orders Fuel Switch Checks After Deadly Boeing Crash
Published : Jul 15, 2025 18:53 IST - 5 MINS READ The Government of India's action speaks much louder than its words in the preliminary report of the June 12 Air India crash in Ahmedabad, which killed over 260 persons. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India's aviation regulator, has ordered the inspection of fuel switches of all Boeing aircraft in India, though the astonishingly brief crash report had no finding blaming the crash on the operation of the switches. Apart from the other issues that this move raises, flights across India are bound to be delayed because Air India has 33 wide-body Boeing 787 aircraft and about 75 single-aisle 737 aircraft. The 15-page preliminary report says: 'At this stage of investigation, there are no recommended actions to B787-8 and/or GE GEnx-1B engine operators and manufacturers.' It is not only the DGCA which has ordered the inspection of the fuel switches. South Korea, Singapore, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, and the UK have done so as well. South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport has ordered all domestic airlines operating Boeing 787 aircraft to check the locks on the fuel control switches. In addition to this, an elaborate note put out by the Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways detailed which parts of the Boeing aircraft need to be closely examined. An Indian official said that this was the natural course of action to mitigate any potential or perceived risk. Also Read | Dreamliners and Boeing come under scrutiny, yet again On May 15, nearly a month before the Air India crash, the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority had issued a safety notice asking all airline operators in the UK to examine the fuel shut-off valve on all Boeing aircraft. It quoted the 2018 Airworthiness Directive (AD) by the US' Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), which made an advisory recommendation on the potential unsafe condition affecting the fuel shut off valve. The safety notice (number: SN-2015/005) stated: 'The Continuing Airworthiness Management Organisation for operators of Boeing B737, B757, B767, B777, B787 aircraft should immediately make themselves aware of the relevant AD and establish whether it affects any of their aircraft.' There was no particular reason attributed to this additional check required by the regulator. The DGCA directive, which has been issued to all airline operators in Indian, has stipulated a deadline of July 21 for the completion of the task, which is in line with the advisory note put out by the United States Federation Aviation Administration in 2018 (and reported earlier by Frontline). The DGCA's statement asserted: 'Strict adherence to the timeline is essential to ensure continued airworthiness and safety of operations.' This directive comes despite the fact that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) did not issue any immediate safety compliance recommendation. It even said that the aircraft, operated as Air India's Flight 171, was airworthy and had no major defects. On July 13, Etihad Airways asked its engineers to prepare to test the dual control switch locking mechanism in the 787 fleet. The instructions in its circular are specific and relate to checking if the fuel control switches can move without a two-stage process: 'Attempt to gentle move (without applying excessive force) to Right fuel control switch on the control stand from CUTOFF to RUN without lifting the switch. If the switch cannot be moved without lifting, the locking feature is functional. No further action is required.' Further, it asks the service personnel to move the fuel switch to the run position and repeat the process. In a statement on July 15, Japan Airlines (JAL) said that it had conducted inspections on its Boeing 787 fleet. While not disclosing the exact nature of the problems it had encountered, JAL stated that any issues found during these inspections had been set right on the ground. In 2013, JAL had to ground its entire B787 fleet following a safety issue related to short-circuit involving the lithium-ion batteries on board. This was set right and the airline resumed operations with 787 aircraft in June that year. On July 15, a report in TheStraits Times stated that Singapore's national carrier, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and its budget counterpart, Scoot, have completed checks on fuel switches and found no problems. SIA has 26 B787 airplanes in its fleet; Scoot has 23. According to the report: 'In addition to the checks on the 787 planes, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) also said it was working with SIA and Scoot to inspect the fuel control switches of all active Singapore-registered Boeing 737 and 747-400F aircraft.' Also Read | Ahmedabad plane crash: Wake-up call from the skies Meanwhile, in a July 14 press release, the Montreal-based International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Association (IFALPA), which represents more than 1,00,000 pilots in nearly 100 countries, said that the preliminary report raises many questions but does not provide any answers. The release stated: 'IFALPA also notes that the Report clearly states that no safety recommendations are being provided at this stage. The Federation remains committed to supporting the efforts of the AAIB of India as they work to determine the contributing factors of this accident. 'IFALPA further appealed to the media not to speculate based on the preliminary report. A Reuters report of July 14 quoted the FAA as saying that the fuel switches were safe. Boeing, too, maintains that this mechanism is safe. This assertion puts the onus on the AAIB to examine all angles, conclude what caused the Air India crash on June 12, and release its report at an early date.
The Star
14-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
India's civil aviation watchdog orders fuel switch locking system checks on Boeing airplanes
NEW DELHI, July 14 (Xinhua) -- India's civil aviation watchdog, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), on Monday asked airlines to inspect the fuel switch locking system in their Boeing airplanes. The DGCA said airlines should complete the inspection and confirm compliance by July 21 in line with the Special Airworthiness Information Bulletins (SAIB) issued by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The SAIB was regarding the potential disengagement of the fuel control switch locking feature. The move came days after India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), in its preliminary report on last month's B787-8 aircraft crash in the western state of Gujarat, found that the fuel to the engines of the plane was cut off following confusion over the engine switch movement in the cockpit between pilots. "DGCA issues mandatory modifications for aircraft/engines/components registered in India based on the Airworthiness Directives issued by the State of Design/Manufacture. It has come to the notice of DGCA that several operators, internationally as well as domestically, have initiated inspections on their aircraft fleet as per the SAIB NM-18-33 dated 17th December 2018," the aviation regulator said. Fuel control switches regulate the flow of fuel into aircraft engines. Reports say Air India, Air India Express, Akasa Air and SpiceJet are among domestic carriers operating Boeing 787 and 737 aircraft. The 15-page report from the AAIB, published one month after the deadly crash, provided the first official account of the final moments of India's worst aviation accident in decades and raised new questions about what caused the simultaneous dual-engine failure. The report did not suggest any significant fault with the plane or its engines. It has not recommended any action for the manufacturer or operators of the B787-8 aircraft at the current stage of the investigation. Also on Monday, Air India CEO and Managing Director Campbell Wilson said the AAIB report found no mechanical or maintenance issues with the aircraft or engines, and all mandatory maintenance tasks had been completed. In addition, an association of commercial pilots in India has expressed its wish to be part of the investigation into the tragedy. In a strong reaction to the AAIB initial report, president of the Airline Pilots' Association of India (ALPA-India) Sam Thomas said that the body wanted transparency regarding the investigation. "We feel that the investigation is being driven in a direction presuming the guilt of pilots, and we strongly object to this line of thought," said an ALPA-India statement. The London-bound Air India aircraft, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed on June 12 shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, about 17 km south of Gandhinagar, the capital city of Gujarat, killing all but one of the 242 people on board.
India Today
14-07-2025
- Automotive
- India Today
Etihad to pilots after Air India crash: Exercise caution on fuel control switches
In the aftermath of the deadly Air India B787-8 crash in Gujarat, the popular airline Etihad Airways has advised its pilots and the engineering team on functioning the fuel control airline has also ordered a quick inspection of all the Boeing 787s in its inventory. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will be handling the development comes right after the release of the preliminary report which analysed the possible causes of the Air India flight The report was released by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), noting several experts wondering about the disengagement of the fuel control switch locking feature in the aircraft, which was notably flagged in 2018 by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).The FAA and Boeing issued notifications last week that the fuel switch feature is safe, according to Reuters.'We will defer to FAA,' Boeing said, responding to the Etihad Airways now, DGCA continues to monitor the alarming situation but has not yet released any India did not respond to issued by Etihad Airways came on July 12 and July 13. Pilots were asked to "exercise caution" while utilising the fuel switch feature and the engineering team has been requested to carry out a detailed a FAA information bulletin issued in December 2018 flagged similar issues with Boeing directive by Etihad Airways was issued as a precautionary step as the investigation into the aircraft continues, said the Etihad India, the airline which is currently under the microscope, possesses two variants of the Boeing aircraft. It also acquired seven 787-9 aircraft after its merger with Vistara Airlines.- EndsMust Watch IN THIS STORY#Air India#Ahmedabad Plane Crash
RTÉ News
14-07-2025
- General
- RTÉ News
Air India crash investigation 'far from over' says CEO
The investigation into last month's Air India Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad city is "far from over," CEO Campbell Wilson has said in an internal memo, adding that the airline is open to further inquiries and warned against "premature conclusions". The memo, seen by Reuters, comes after a preliminary report on Saturday showed confusion in the cockpit shortly before the Air India jetliner crashed and killed 260 people last month, after the plane's engine fuel cutoff switches flipped almost simultaneously and starved the engines of fuel. The Boeing Dreamliner bound for London from the Indian city of Ahmedabad began to lose thrust and sink shortly after takeoff, according to the report on the world's deadliest aviation accident in a decade released by Indian accident investigators. The memo said that the preliminary report found no mechanical or maintenance faults and that all required maintenance had been carried out. The report, issued by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, did not offer any conclusions or apportion blame for the 12 June disaster, but indicated that one pilot asked the other why he cut off fuel, and the second pilot responded that he had not. In its 15-page report, the investigation bureau 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 with a time gap of 01 sec". "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 so," it said. The aircraft quickly began to lose altitude. The switches then returned to the "RUN" position and the engines appeared to be gathering power, but "one of the pilots transmitted 'MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY'", the report said. Air traffic controllers asked the pilots what was wrong, but then saw the plane crashing and called emergency personnel to the scene. Last week, specialist website The Air Current, citing multiple sources familiar with the probe, reported it had "narrowed its focus to the movement of the engine fuel switches", while noting that full analysis will "take months - if not longer". It added that "the focus of the investigators could change during that time". The Indian agency's report said that the US Federal Aviation Administration had issued an information bulletin in 2018 about "the potential disengagement of the fuel control switch locking feature". Though the concern was not considered an "unsafe condition" that would warrant a more serious directive, Air India told investigators it did not carry out suggested inspections as they were "advisory and not mandatory". One passenger survived, a British citizen who was seen walking out of the wreckage Air India was compliant with all airworthiness directives and alert service bulletins on the aircraft, the report said. The investigations bureau said there were "no recommended actions to B787-8 and/or GE GEnx-1B engine operators and manufacturers", suggesting no technical issues with the engines (GE) or the aircraft (Boeing). The bureau said the investigation was ongoing, and that additional evidence and information has been "sought from the stakeholders". The UN's International Civil Aviation Organisation stipulates that states heading an investigation must submit a preliminary report within 30 days of an accident. US and British air accident investigators have taken part in the probe. The plane was carrying 230 passengers, 169 Indians, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian, along with 12 crew members. Dozens of people on the ground were injured. One passenger miraculously survived, a British citizen who was seen walking out of the wreckage of the crash, and who has since been discharged from hospital. Health officials in the Indian state of Gujarat initially said at least 279 people were killed, but forensic scientists reduced the figure after multiple scattered and badly burnt remains were identified.
