Aviation Watchdog Orders Fuel Switch Locking System Checks On Boeing Jets

Domestic airlines operating Boeing jets have been instructed to conduct checks on switches that regulate fuel supply to the engines on those planes. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation said airlines had till July 21 to complete these checks and confirm compliance.

This mandatory for all India-registered Boeing aircraft, the DGCA said, following from a special airworthiness bulletin issued by its United States counterpart, the Federal Aviation Authority, in 2018 that highlighted potential malfunctions in the fuel control switch's locking system.

Only two Indian airlines operate the Dreamliner - Air India and IndiGo. The former has around 30 of these planes, including the 787-8 and -9 variants. The latter has just begun flying the 787-9.

Air India has completed checks on 50 per cent of its Dreamliner fleet starting Saturday, sources told NDTV, and no malfunctions had been found in the fuel switch's locking mechanism.

Similar checks have been completed for most of Air India Express' Boeing 737 Max fleet, sources said, and no defects had been found in those planes either.

The DGCA notification follows concern over a preliminary report into the June 12 Air India crash, in which a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed 32 seconds after take-off from Ahmedabad airport.

The tail of Air India flight AI 171 after the plane crashed into a building near Ahmedabad airport.

The report indicated the plane crashed because the control switches - designed to be immobile unless the pilot deliberately flips them - moved from 'RUN' to the 'CUTOFF' within a second of each other, meaning fuel supply stopped seconds after take-off and both engines shut down.

NDTV Explains | What Are Fuel Switches At Centre Of Air India Crash Probe

The fuel-laden Boeing - carrying 272 people including crew - then slammed into a building near the airport, killing all but one of those on board and another 19 people on the ground.

NDTV Explains | Engines Shut, Fuel Cut Off - Inside Doomed Air India Flight

In the days after the crash Air India confirmed the plane's right engine had been overhauled in March and the left was inspected in March. The airline also said the plane's Throttle Controle Module, or TCM, had been replaced twice, once in 2019 and again in 2023.

READ | 'Right Engine Changed, Left Inspected': Air India On Dreamliner Crash

The TCM is an electronic system that manages the flow of air into the engine to control power output. The module includes the fuel control switches in the FAA, DGCA advisories.

Following the release of that report (late Friday/early Saturday), Etihad Airways and other major airlines have advised pilots operating Dreamliners to "exercise caution" when handling the aircraft's fuel control switches. The Dubai-based airline also ordered a fleet-wide inspection - citing an "abundance of caution" - of the locking mechanisms on these switches.

READ | Amid Air India Probe, Etihad To Check Fuel Switch Locks On Boeing 787s

The Etihad directive, dated July 12 and reviewed by NDTV, instructs engineers to check whether the left and right fuel control switches on Boeing 787 aircraft can be moved between 'CUTOFF' and 'RUN' without lifting the locking mechanism. If the switches move without lifting, the locking feature is considered faulty, and the Thrust Control Module, or TCM, must be replaced.

A similar procedure has been advised for Indian airlines.

On Sunday the United States' aviation regulator, the Federal Aviation Authority, and Boeing issued notifications insisting the fuel control switches are 'safe'.

The preliminary report into the crash by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau referred to a 2018 FAA advisory that recommended, but did not mandate, operators of several Boeing models, including the 787, to inspect the locking feature of the fuel cutoff switches.

READ | "Advisory, Not Mandatory": Air India On US Report On Fuel Control Switch

The report said Air India did not carry out that inspection because it was not mandatory.