Fuel switch checks clear Boeing 787s, 737s in AI fleet

NEW DELHI: Air India said Tuesday it has completed inspections and found no faults in the fuel control switch (FCS) locking mechanism on all its Boeing 787 Dreamliners and AI Express Boeing 737s.The checks followed a July 14 directive from DGCA, which ordered Indian carriers to inspect the FCS on all Boeing aircraft. The move came after the June 12 crash of AI-171 in Ahmedabad. Both engines of the London-bound Dreamliner lost power mid-air soon after take-off.According to preliminary probe, fuel supply was cut off when FCS switches for engines 1 & 2 moved from "run" to "cut-off" - one after the other - with a gap of one second.

Investigators have not yet determined what caused the switches to transition."Air India has completed precautionary inspections on locking mechanism of FCS on Boeing 787 and 737 aircraft in its fleet," the airline said in a statement. "With this, the two airlines have complied with DGCA's July 14 directive. No issues were found." The airline said results have been shared with DGCA and reaffirmed its "commitment to the safety of passengers and crew members".

The US Federal Aviation Administration had issued a special airworthiness information bulletin in Dec 2018 warning of potential disengagement of the FCS locking mechanism in some Boeing aircraft. Since SAIB was advisory & not mandatory, Air India had not acted on it earlier.