"No Issues Found": Air India Inspects Fuel Control Switch On Boeing Jets

Weeks after India witnessed one of its worst air crashes in decades, Air India has said that it has completed its inspection of the locking mechanism of the fuel control switch on its Boeing 787 and Boeing 737 aircraft and found no issues.

The June 12 crash involving a Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 had left 271 people dead.

Air India had voluntarily taken up the precautionary checks after a preliminary report on July 12 revealed the aircraft's fuel switches were found in a cut-off position. The checks were necessary to ensure that it could not be moved accidentally.

On July 14, an advisory by India's aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) followed, calling for fuel switch checks on some aircraft models by July 21. Both Air India and its low-cost subsidiary Air India Express have complied with the DGCA directive, the Tata-owned airline said.

"In the inspections, no issues were found with the said locking mechanism. Air India had started voluntary inspections on 12 July and completed them within the prescribed time limit set by the DGCA. The same has been communicated to the regulator," their statement read.

The US regulator, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and Boeing had earlier issued private notifications stating that fuel switch locks on Boeing planes are safe, according to a Reuters report.

Air India Crash Probe

The doomed Air India aircraft, with the flight code AI171, had taken off for London from the Ahmedabad airport on June 12. Within seconds, it lost height and crashed into a medical college building, killing all except one passenger and dozens of aspiring doctors.

The AAIB, which is probing the air crash, released its initial findings on July 12. Besides the fuel switch cut-off, the report had revealed that the pilots tried to relight the engines. There was no evidence of sabotage or birdhit in the 15-page report.

The airline had then pointed out that the report found no mechanical or maintenance issue with the aircraft, its engines, or the fuel quality, and assured that every Boeing 787 aircraft in the Air India fleet was checked and found to be fit within days after the crash.

In an internal note last week, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson had also disapproved of speculations amid an apparent Western media campaign to blame pilot actions for the crash. "Until a final report or cause is tabled, there will no doubt be new rounds of speculation and more sensational headlines," Mr Wilson had said, urging employees to "stop drawing premature conclusions".

The government has also warned that these findings are preliminary, and one must wait for the final report.