'Fuel Switch Locks Are Safe': Boeing, US Regulator Push Back Amid Air India Plane Crash Probe

The FAA endorsed this assessment, issuing a Continued Airworthiness Notification stating the fuel control switch design doesn't pose an unsafe condition warranting action on any Boeing model.

Following a preliminary report on the June 12 Air India plane crash, Boeing affirmed the safety of its fuel switch locks, a key focus of the investigation.

Source : PTI

The fuel switch locks — now central to the June 12 Air India plane crash probe — on Boeing planes are safe, the aerospace company has said after a preliminary report into one of the deadliest aviation disasters in India. 

Boeing made the statement through a privately issued notification, endorsed by the US Federal Aviation Administration, as reported by Reuters, citing a related document and quoting four sources with knowledge of the matter. 

On July 11, the FAA issued the Continued Airworthiness Notification after the publication of the preliminary report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau. 

The notification sent by FAA to Civil Aviation Authorities, stated: "although the fuel control switch design, including the locking feature, is similar on various Boeing airplane models, the FAA does not consider this issue to be an unsafe condition that would warrant an Airworthiness Directive on any Boeing airplane models, including the Model 787."

The FAA said it did not have anything to add beyond the notification. 

Boeing also referred to a notification by the FAA in a Multi-Operator-Message sent to the airlines over past few days, which stated that the plane manufacturer is not recommending any action, the report added quoting two sources with direct knowldege. 

Meanwhile, the ALPA India, which represents Indian pilots at the Montreal-based International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations, rejected the presumption of pilot error and called for a "fair, fact-based inquiry." 

"The pilot's body must now be made part of the probe, at least as observers," ALPA India President Sam Thomas told Reuters on Sunday.

In a statement, ALPA India said the preliminary investigation report referred to the 2018 FAA advisory "concerning the fuel control switch gates, which indicates a potential equipment malfunction."

The AAIB's 15-page preliminary report into the fatal plane crash in Ahmedabad that killed 260 persons, including 241 people onboard, said the fuel was cut off to the engines seconds after take off. 

It also referred to a 2018 FAA advisory, which recommended, but did not mandate, operators of several Boeing models, including the 787, to inspect the locking feature of the fuel cutoff switches to ensure it could not be moved accidentally.

The AI171 flight had taken off from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai International Airport for London Gatwick but crashed seconds later into the hostel of BJ Medical College and Hospital on the afternoon of June 12.