New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), on Monday, directed all airlines in India to inspect the fuel switches on Boeing aircraft, including the 787 and 737 models by July 21. The aim is to identify any issues with the locking mechanism of these switches.
“Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) number: NM-18-33 dated 17th December, 2018 regarding the potential for disengagement of the fuel control switch locking feature on Boeing (models)…” the DGCA stated in its notification.
This notification was issued after DGCA came to know that several Indian and international airlines have already started carrying out their own checks of the fuel switches. It has been reported that Air India began inspecting the fuel-control switches on its Boeing 787 and 737 aircraft over the weekend after the preliminary report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB) noted that the switches of the ill-fated Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12 had moved to the ‘Cut-off’ mode soon after take-off. So far, no faults have been detected.
Earlier, Etihad Airways instructed its engineers to examine the locking mechanism of the fuel control switches in its Boeing 787 aircraft. Sources confirmed that Singapore Airlines has also ordered similar inspections.
This move comes even though the FAA’s advisory was for the 737 aircraft and checks were not mandatory. Boeing has always maintained that fuel control switches on its aircraft are safe.
The AAIB published its preliminary report early on Saturday, causing a bit of a stir within the aviation circle. As it is believed that the switches are locked into position and cannot shift position by themselves, human interference was suspected. Pilots’ associations in India issued rebuttals, accusing the AAIB of hinting at pilot error in the crash that caused the deaths of 260 people.
The Centre, however, insisted that people need not jump to conclusions on the basis of the preliminary findings as the investigation is still underway.
On aircraft like the Boeing 787, the fuel control switches are located below the thrust levers and are fitted with safety features such as metal locks and protective guards to prevent accidental shutdown. These measures were introduced by the manufacturers after past incidents involving unintended fuel shutoff in older aircraft models. However, a lock malfunction can mean an inadvertent movement of the switches to a wrong position.
