Air India tragedy fallout: DGCA directs airlines to inspect fuel switches in Boeings | India News

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: India on Monday directed its airlines using certain Boeing aircraft, like the B737s and B787 Dreamliners, to check fuel control switch locking mechanisms on them by July 21.The regulators and airlines of some other countries, like South Korea and the UAE, are also doing the same. The US Federal Aviation Administration had in December 2018 issued a “special airworthiness information bulletin” regarding potential disengagement of the fuel control switch locking mechanism on certain Boeing planes.The directive comes two days after the release of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau’s reliminary report which put the fuel control switches centre-stage in its investigation of the June 12 AI 171 crash that killed 270 people. Airlines are required to submit their inspection plans and subsequent reports to DGCA headquarters and relevant regional offices.Half of Air India’s Dreamliners cleared in lock switch check It has come to the notice of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation that several operators, internationally as well as domestic, have initiated inspection on their aircraft fleet as per the SAIB NM-18-33,” DGCA order said. The inspection requirement affects a wide range of Boeing aircraft, including various 737 series, 747 models, 757 series, 767 variants, and all 787 models. “Strict adherence to the timeline is essential to ensure continued airworthiness and safety of operations,” said the order signed by R B Jamir, director of airworthiness.Air India is learned to have checked half of its 33 Dreamliners over the weekend and found nothing wrong with the locking mechanism of those switches. “As and when the remaining Dreamliners fly to India or to a base that has engineering support, they will be checked too in the next two days,” said sources. AI Express is also learned to have checked 26 B737s & 49 B737MAX aircraft and not found any defect on them. Vistara’s wet-leased Dreamliners are not registered in India so do not come under the DGCA order.AI had replaced the throttle control module (which houses, among other things, the fuel switches) in 2019 and 2023 on the Dreamliner (VT-ANB) that crashed in Ahmedabad. “However, the reason for the replacement was not linked to the fuel control switch. There has been no defect reported pertaining to the fuel control switch since 2023 on VT-ANB,” AAIB’s preliminary report says.The preliminary report did not recommend actions to Boeing 787-8 and/or GE GEnx-1B engine operators and manufacturers. “Data downloaded from the forward enhanced airborne flight recorder is being analysed in detail… Investigation is continuing and the investigation team will review and examine additional evidence, records and information that is being sought from the stakeholders,” the report said.Meanwhile, news agencies reported that FAA and Boeing have privately issued notifications that the fuel switch locks on Boeing planes are safe.This is not the first time that airlines and regulators worldwide have stepped away from FAA directives to independently take decisions impacting flight safety. In 2019, a day after an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX aircraft crashed, it was grounded by 51 aviation regulators worldwide. The regulators, led by China’s Civil Aviation Administration, kept aside FAA’s affirmation of B737 MAX’s airworthiness. Five months earlier, Indonesian carrier Lion Air’s B737 MAX crashed in similar manner during take-off. It was only after the Lion Air crash that Boeing revealed to airlines that it had installed an operating system on the MAX aircraft that lowered the aircraft nose automatically in certain conditions.