Complying with the aviation watchdog’s directions, Air India has completed precautionary inspections on the locking mechanism of the Fuel Control Switch (FCS) on all Boeing 787 and Boeing 737 aircraft in its fleet.
During the inspection, no issues were found with the locking mechanism, the airline said.
Boeing 737 aircraft are part of the fleet of Air India Express, Air India’s low-cost subsidiary. Air India had started voluntary inspections on July 12 and completed them within the prescribed time limit set by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Earlier this month, the DGCA ordered an inspection of the fuel control switch systems of Boeing and other aircraft operating in the country, after a 15-page preliminary report on the Air India plane crash, revealed that the switches supplying fuel to the aircraft’s engines were turned off within a span of one second after take-off—one of the key factors behind the tragedy.
On June 12, the London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner began to lose thrust almost immediately after taking off from the Ahmedabad airport and ploughed into a medical college hostel, killing all but one of the 242 onboard and another 19 on ground in the deadliest aviation accident in a decade.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau’s (AAIB) preliminary probe report on the fatal Air India plane accident has put the spotlight on the fuel switches of the crashed Boeing 787-8 and the confusion among the two pilots over the switches being cut off.
Fuel switches regulate the flow of fuel into an aircraft’s engines. The switch has two positions — ‘RUN’ and ‘CUT OFF’ — and are used to start or shut down engines.
