New Delhi (AFP) – Air India has begun inspecting fuel control switches on its 33 Boeing 787 aircraft after grounding a flight over a possible defect, according to a company note seen by AFP on Tuesday. The checks came as Indian authorities were probing the crash last year of a 787 Dreamliner that killed 260 people shortly after takeoff.
News of the inspection followed Air India’s grounding Monday of a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner jet after one of its pilots reported a possible defect in the fuel control switch. “Following the reported defect…Engineering has escalated the matter to Boeing for priority evaluation,” the internal company note said.
India’s aviation regulator said incorrect handling of the fuel switch had caused the issue in Monday’s flight, and not a mechanical fault. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation said that twice the fuel control switch, which regulates fuel into the plane’s engines, did not “remain positively latched in the run position when light vertical pressure was applied.” It was stable the third time and the flight was “completed without incident,” the regulator said in a statement. It advised the airline to reinforce crew training on Boeing’s recommended procedures.
In a statement to AFP, Boeing said: “We are in contact with Air India and are supporting their review of this matter.” Air India, owned by the Tata Group conglomerate, said it had launched a precautionary fleet-wide re-inspection of the switch latch. A source close to the company told AFP that fresh inspection of several planes had been completed, with no adverse findings yet.
A London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner operated by Air India crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad in June, killing all but one of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground. An inspection of the locking feature on the fuel control switches of the aircraft after the crash found no issues.
A preliminary report by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said fuel supply to the jet’s engines was cut off moments before impact, raising questions about possible pilot error. According to the AAIB, one pilot was heard asking the other why fuel had been cut off, to which the second pilot replied that he had not done so.
Two major Indian commercial pilots’ associations, as well as the father of one of the dead pilots, have rejected suggestions that human error caused the crash. Indian authorities have yet to release a final report into the crash.
© 2024 AFP
